Exceptions

Objective #1: Explain the difference between compile errors and run-time errors.

• A compile error occurs when the Java compiler (j2sdk) and/or Eclipse finds a misspelled keyword, a misplaced operator such as a semicolon, or similar typing mistake.
• A run-time error occurs when the user enters a value that causes division by zero, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) promotes or casts an object incorrectly, or another problem occurs while the program is executing. This type of run-time error is often called an exception error (even though it's an exception object that is being "thrown").

Objective #2: Understand the underlying causes of several kinds of exception errors.

• On the AP Exam, you are responsible for understanding the following types of run-time exceptions:
  
  • ArithmeticException - thrown when an illegal arithmetic operation has occurred (e.g. division by zero). A tricky exception to this is that when an arithmetic operation with data type double occurs, Java doesn't throw an exception.
  • ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException - thrown when programmer attempts to access an array index position that doesn't exist
  • IndexOutOfBoundsException - this is the parent class of ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException and is thrown when an attempt to access a non-existent index position of an ArrayList is made
  • StringIndexOutOfBoundsException - similar to ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException except it is thrown specifically when an attempt is made to access a non-existent character of a string object (e.g. System.out.println("wyomissing".charAt(-2)); )
  • NullPointerException - thrown when an attempt to use a method is made on an object variable that is equal to null and has not been instantiated (e.g. the code segment     Student john = null; john.computeGrade();    would cause this exception to be thrown since john has not been instantiated with the new operator so you can't compute his grade yet.)
  • ClassCastException - thrown when an attempt to cast an object to a subclass or other class of which it is not an instance (e.g. you can't cast a Pencil object to a Walrus object)
  • IllegalArgumentException - thrown when a method is passed an illegal or inappropriate argument (e.g. if you wrote a Student class, you could throw an IllegalArgumentException object from within a constructor that attempts to give a student a name that starts with a numerical digit). This exception is usually not tested on the AP exam.
  • IllegalStateException - thrown when a class invariant is violated and an object takes on an incorrect property value or when a method is executed on an object at an illogical time (e.g. if a class invariant of a Student class is that a student object will never have a negative grade point average then a mathematical operation that causes the student's GPA to be negative will throw this kind of exception). This exception is usually not tested on the AP exam.

The following is not covered on the AP exam or unit tests.

Objective #3: Throw and catch exceptions where appropriate.

• Java provides a way for programmers to anticipate the possibility of certain kinds of run-time errors through exception-handling. A programmer, in anticipation of a possible run-time error, can write code that will "throw an exception" if a run-time error occurs in a given code segment.
• Actually, an exception is an object from an exception class. "Throwing the exception" amounts to ending the execution of a method prematurely when an error occurs and sending (i.e. throwing) an exception object back to the method that called the method where the run-time error occurred. This is done with the keyword throw rather than the keyword return.
• When running the program where an exception is thrown due to a run-time error, the program ends with an error message like this:
  
  Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException at Ch14Demo1.main(Ch14Demo1.java:5)
  
  which means that an error occurred on line 5 of the main method in the class named Ch14Demo1. An ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException object was thrown. This means that the programmer tried to access an element in an array that doesn't exist. For example, if the array has a size of 10 and a programmer tried to display or overwrite the value in the element with index position 10 this kind of exception will be thrown. The Sun programmers who created the Array class have a throw statement somewhere in the Array class that throws this exception object and error message.
• There is a difference between checked and unchecked exceptions. With checked exceptions you are required to use a throws clause. You are not required to use a throws clause with unchecked exceptions. Checked exceptions often occur no matter how well you try to prevent them. They are often the result of something that the user does which is out of your control as the programmer. Unchecked exceptions are things that you can prevent with careful logic and if statements. Unchecked exceptions are runtime exceptions while checked exceptions are checked by the compiler. All of the exceptions explained below are unchecked exceptions. AP students are not responsible for understanding, interpreting, or throwing checked exceptions.
• Your code does not need to explicitly throw an ArithmeticException, NullPointerException, ClassCastException, or ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException since Java automatically throws those exceptions when the condition is triggered.
• The following BankAccount class constructor throws an IllegalStateException object if an attempt to store a negative balance in a bank account is made:
  
  public BankAccount(double initialBalance)
  {
     if (initialBalance < 0)
     {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Initial balance must be non-negative.");
     }
  
     balance = initialBalance;
  }
  
  The throw statement acts like a return statement. The method ends when it reaches a throw statement. Note that the IllegalArgumentException object being thrown is an anonymous object.
  
  
• The following BankAccount withdraw method throws an IllegalStateException object if an attempt to make the balance of the account negative is made.
  
  public void withdraw(int amount)
  {
     if (balance - amount < 0)
     {
        throw new IllegalStateException("Balance cannot be negative.");
     }
  
     balance -= amount;
  }
  
  
• To catch an exception, you use a try/catch/finally statement. While you do not have to write any try/catch/finally statements on the AP exam, it is good to know how to use this structure to make client programs more robust.
  
  The following code segment would handle the exception thrown by the constructor above.
  
  // user inputs values for userBalance & userAmount
  
  try
  {
     BankAccount savings = new BankAccount(userBalance);
     savings.withdraw(userAmount);
  }
  catch (IllegalStateException exception)
  {
     System.out.println(exception);
  }
  catch (IllegalArgumentException exception)
  {
     System.out.println(exception);
  }
  finally
  {
     System.exit(0);
  }
  
  The code in the finally clause is guaranteed to execute even if an exception is thrown from the code in the try clause and whether the exception is caught by one of the catch handlers or not.