What is exception handling in Python ?

Definition

• Exception handling in Python is a mechanism that allows a program to deal with errors or exceptions that occur during execution without crashing. It enables the program to respond to different error conditions gracefully.

Examples

[pastacode lang=”python” manual=”try%3A%0A%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20Result%20%3D%2010%20%2F%200%C2%A0%20%23%20This%20will%20raise%20a%20zerodivisionerror%0A%0Aexcept%20zerodivisionerror%3A%0A%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20print(%22Cannot%20divide%20by%20zero!%22)%0A%0Afinally%3A%0A%0A%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%20print(%22This%20will%20always%20execute.%22)” message=”” highlight=”” provider=”manual”/]

Output

[pastacode lang=”python” manual=”Cannot%20divide%20by%20zero!%0A%0AThis%20will%20always%20execute.” message=”” highlight=”” provider=”manual”/]

Features

• Try Block: Code that may raise an exception is placed inside the try block.
• Except Block: Catches and handles the specific exception that occurs.
• Finally Block: Executes code regardless of whether an exception occurred or not, often used for cleanup.
• Else Block: Executes if no exception was raised in the try block. 

Advantages

• Prevents program crashes by handling errors
• Makes the code more readable and easier
• Ensures that resources like files or network connections are properly closed

Uses

• Dealing with network-related errors such as timeouts or connection issues.
• Managing errors that arise from invalid user inputs
• Handling errors like file not found