Python Exception Handling: The Key to Debugging Success

In Python, an exception is an occurrence that occurs while executing a programme and disrupts the normal flow of the program’s orders.

When a Python programme encounters a condition that it cannot handle, it throws an exception. An exception is a Python object that describes an error.

When a Python programme encounters an exception, it has two choices: handle the exception immediately or stop and quit.

Exception handling is a way to handle runtime errors in your code. To manage exceptions in Python, utilise the try and except commands.

Here is an example of how to use try and except to handle a ZeroDivisionError exception, which is raised when you try to divide a number by zero:

try:
    x = 5 / 0
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("You cannot divide a number by zero!")

In this example, the try block contains the code that might cause an exception to be raised (in this case, dividing a number by zero). If an exception is raised, the code in the except block is executed.

You can also specify multiple except blocks to handle different types of exceptions. For example:

try:
    x = 5 / 0
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("You cannot divide a number by zero!")
except TypeError:
    print("You have provided an invalid argument type.")

In this case, the first except block will handle a ZeroDivisionError, and the second except block will handle a TypeError.

The else block can also be used to describe the code that should be executed if no exceptions are reported in the try block. For example:

try:
    x = 5 / 2
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("You cannot divide a number by zero!")
else:
    print(x)

Because no exceptions were thrown in the try block, the other block will be executed. The result will be 2.5.

It’s important to use exception handling to gracefully handle errors in your code and provide meaningful feedback to the user. It’s also a good practice to log any errors that occur so that you can diagnose and fix problems in your code.

In the context of exception management, Python additionally supports the raise keyword. It expressly causes an exception to be generated. Inherent mistakes are raised implicitly. During execution, however, a built-in or custom exception can be forced.

The code below accepts a number from the user. If the number is outside the acceptable range, the try block throws a ValueError exception.