Difference Between Errors and Exceptions

Difference Between Errors and Exceptions

In programming, errors, and exceptions are common occurrences that can disrupt the normal flow of execution. While both errors and exceptions indicate that something went wrong, they differ in their causes and how they should be handled. Understanding the distinction between them is crucial for writing robust and reliable code. This article explores the differences between errors and exceptions, providing insights into how they occur and how programmers can manage them effectively.

Errors

• Errors represent conditions such as compilation errors, syntax errors, logical errors in code, library incompatibility issues, and infinite recursion.
• Errors are typically beyond the programmer’s control and are not intended to be handled within the code.
• Examples of errors include stack overflows and memory allocation failures.

Exceptions

• Exceptions, on the other hand, are runtime issues that can be caught and handled by the program.
• They occur during the execution of a program and are often a result of invalid operations or unexpected inputs.

Errors vs. Exceptions

Errors and exceptions differ in their nature and handling. Broadly, errors can be categorized as syntax errors and exceptions.

Syntax Errors:

• Also referred to as parsing errors, these are the most common type of errors and occur when the code structure violates the syntax rules of the language.
• For example:

 while True print('Hello world')
 

Output:

 File "", line 1
 while True print('Hello world')
 ^
 SyntaxError: invalid syntax
 

• In this example, the parser highlights the line with the issue and uses a caret (^) to point to the problematic part of the code.
• The error arises because the colon (:) is missing after while True.

Exceptions:

• Even if the syntax is correct, errors can occur during execution. These are known as exceptions.
• For example:

 10 * (1/0)
 

Output:

 Traceback (most recent call last):
 File "", line 1, in 
 ZeroDivisionError: division by zero
 

• The output indicates the type of exception (ZeroDivisionError) and provides information about where it occurred.
• Exceptions can be either built-in (e.g., ValueError, TypeError, ZeroDivisionError) or user-defined, and they can be caught and managed using exception handling mechanisms such as try-except blocks.

By understanding the distinction between errors and exceptions, programmers can write robust and reliable code that handles unexpected situations gracefully.