Exceptions

[Sudipta Das]

Which is the correct answer for this quiz ?

public class AQuestion
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
System.out.println("Before Try");
try
{
}
catch(java.io.IOException t)
{
System.out.println("Inside Catch");
}
System.out.println("At the End");
}
}
1.Compiler error complaining about the catch block where no IOException object can ever be thrown.
2.Compiler error - IOException not found. It must be imported in the first line of the code.
3.No compiler error. The lines "Before Try" and "At the end" are printed on the screen.

[Adrian Yan]

2 maybe?

[Thomas Paul]

The answer is 1.
Again, why didn't you just compile and run it? Wouldn't that have been faster than asking here?
------------------
Moderator of the Programmer Certification Forums

[Art Metzer]

I notice this series of questions comes from this mock exam, out of Maha Anna's list. As it says on Abhilash's Answers page, Sudipta, if you E-mail Abilash at [email protected], he will be more than happy to E-mail you explanations of all the answers. Trust me, I've done it. I highly recommend that you do so, too, Sudipta. Then, after reviewing those explanations, if you still have questions, feel free to consult your fellow ranchers.
It has been my experience on JavaRanch that the depth and amount of help you receive is directly proportional to the amount of effort you have demonstrated putting forth to solve your particular problem.
Art

[Thomas Paul]

By the way, 2 is wrong because the package was specifically listed with the IOException.

[Zkr Ryz]

Originally posted by Thomas Paul:
The answer is 1.
Again, why didn't you just compile and run it? Wouldn't that have been faster than asking here?

I have found useful that other people post this and all kind of questions, because it helps on my preparation.
Compiling and runnig, would have gave him an answer, but I would not ever notice about such question.

[James Du]

Hi all, I quoted the code here for convenience

public class AQuestion
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
System.out.println("Before Try");
try
{
}
catch(java.io.IOException t)
{
System.out.println("Inside Catch");
}
System.out.println("At the End");
}
}

I've tyied the code and finded that the answer is 1 and that the reason is not so simple as i assumed.
I can't find a rule in the specification says that the exception in the catch clause necessarily can ever be thrown in the try clause, is there any?
I looked up the specification and find there's a seemingly-related reason, pls. look at the following quote from the spec.

A catch block C is reachable iff(if and only if) both of the following are true:
Some expression or throw statement in the try block is reachable and can throw an exception whose type is assignable to the parameter of the catch clause C. (An expression is considered reachable iff the innermost statement containing it is reachable.)
There is no earlier catch block A in the try statement such that the type of C's parameter is the same as or a subclass of the type of A's parameter.

It seems that the statement in the catch clause is considered unreachable by the compiler so it complained, but I find if I replace the "java.lang.IOException" with "ArithmeticException", the compiler doesn't object to the code any more, why? just because "ArithmeticException" is the subclass of "RuntimeException"? Does it mean that unreachable statement could be acceptable in some special case or that an empty block(i.e {} ) is considered a potential RuntimeException thrower?
I really need a clarification, thanks in advance.

[Ajith Kallambella]

Yes, you're right. RuntimeException and its subclasses are not checked exceptions ie., the code is not expected either to declare or to catch the exception.
HTH

[James Du]

Hi Ajith,
I wonder at what point i'm right?
Does it mean that unreachable statement could be acceptable in some special cases(e.g. the unreachable statement in the catch clause of which the exception parameter is of subclass of RuntimeException)?
Or that an empty block(i.e {} ) is considered a potential RuntimeException thrower? in this case, the statement enclosed in the catch clause is not considered unreachable.
Regard.
James

[Naveen Sharma]

Hi All
I M Still Not Clear About The Concept.Its OK That Complier wont give Error in Case of Runtime Exceptions as we already Know.
But Why it is specifically giving error on IOException.Even with Exception It works Perfectly. e.g
try{}
catch(Exception e) //Compiles and Run
Please Explain Why So..
Thanks