Exception Handling Interview questions

1) What is an exception?

Exception is an abnormal condition which occurs during the execution of a

program and disrupts normal flow of the program. This exception must be handled
properly. If it is not handled, the program will be terminated abruptly.

2) How are exceptions handled in Java? OR Explain exception handling

mechanism in Java?

Exceptions in Java are handled using try, catch and finally blocks.

try block : The code or set of statements which are to be monitored for exception
are kept in this block.

catch block : This block catches the exceptions occurring in the try block.

finally block : This block is always executed whether an exception occurs in the try
block or not and an exception is caught in the catch block or not.

3) What is the difference between error and exception in Java?

Errors are mainly caused by the environment in which an application is running.

For example, OutOfMemoryError happens when JVM runs out of memory.
Whereas exceptions are mainly caused by the application itself. For example,
NullPointerException occurs when an application tries to access a null object.

Click here to see more about Error Vs Exception in Java.

4) Can we keep other statements in between try, catch and finally blocks?

No. We shouldn’t write any other statements in between try, catch and finally
blocks. They form one unit.
try
{
// Statements to be monitored for exceptions
}

//You can't keep statements here

catch(Exception ex)
{
//Catching the exceptions here
}

//You can't keep statements here

finally
{
// This block is always executed
}

5) Can we write only try block without catch and finally blocks?

No, It shows a compilation error. The try block must be followed by either catch or
finally block. You can remove either catch block or finally block but not both.

6) There are three statements in a try block – statement1, statement2 and

statement3. After that there is a catch block to catch the exceptions occurred in
the try block. Assume that exception has occurred in statement2. Does statement
get executed or not?

No. Once a try block throws an exception, remaining statements will not be executed.
control comes directly to the catch block.

7) What is an unreachable catch block error?

When you are keeping multiple catch blocks, the order of catch blocks must be from
most specific to most general ones. i.e subclasses of Exception must come first and
super classes later. If you keep super classes first and sub classes later, the compiler
will show an unreachable catch block error.
public class ExceptionHandling
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
try
{
int i = Integer.parseInt("abc"); //This statement
throws NumberFormatException
}

catch(Exception ex)
{
System.out.println("This block handles all exception
types");
}

catch(NumberFormatException ex)
{
//Compile time error
//This block becomes unreachable as
//exception is already caught by above catch block
}
}
}

8) Explain the hierarchy of exceptions in Java?

Click here to see the hierarchy of exceptions in Java.

9) What are run time exceptions in Java. Give an example?

The exceptions which occur at run time are called runtime exceptions. These
exceptions are unknown to compiler. All subclasses of
java.lang.RunTimeException and java.lang.Error are runtime exceptions.
These exceptions are unchecked type of exceptions. For example,
NumberFormatException, NullPointerException, ClassCastException,
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundException, StackOverflowError etc.
10) What is OutOfMemoryError in Java?

OutOfMemoryError is the subclass of java.lang.Error which occurs when JVM runs

out of memory.

11) what are checked and unchecked exceptions in java?

Checked exceptions are the exceptions which are known to the compiler. These
exceptions are checked at compile time only. Hence the name checked exceptions.
These exceptions are also called compile time exceptions. Because, these exceptions
will be known during compile time.

Unchecked exceptions are those exceptions which are not at all known to the compiler.
These exceptions occur only at run time. These exceptions are also called run time
exceptions. All subclasses of java.lang.RunTimeException and
java.lang.Error are unchecked exceptions.

12) What is the difference between ClassNotFoundException and

NoClassDefFoundError in Java?
Click here to see the differences between ClassNotFoundException and
NoClassDefFoundError in Java.

13) Can we keep the statements after the finally block If the control is returning
from the finally block itself?
No, it gives an unreachable code error. Because, control is returning from the finally
block itself. Compiler will not see the statements after it. That’s why it shows
unreachable code errors.

14) Does the finally block get executed If either try or catch blocks are returning
the control?
Yes, the finally block will be always executed no matter whether try or catch blocks are
returning the control or not.

15) Can we throw an exception manually? If yes, how? Yes, we can throw an
exception manually using throw keyword. Syntax for throwing an exception manually is
 throw InstanceOfThrowableType;

Below example shows how to use throw keyword to throw an exception manually.

try
{
NumberFormatException ex = new NumberFormatException();
//Creating an object to NumberFormatException explicitly

throw ex; //throwing NumberFormatException object

explicitly using throw keyword
}
catch(NumberFormatException ex)
{
System.out.println("explicitly thrown NumberFormatException
object will be caught here");
}

16) What is Re-throwing an exception in Java?

Exceptions raised in the try block are handled in the catch block. If it is unable to handle
that exception, it can re-throw that exception using throw keyword. It is called
re-throwing an exception.

try
{
String s = null;
System.out.println(s.length()); //This statement throws
NullPointerException
}
catch(NullPointerException ex)
{
System.out.println("NullPointerException is caught here");

throw ex; //Re-throwing NullPointerException

}
17) What is the use of throws keywords in Java?
Click here to see the uses of throws keywords in Java.

18) Why it is always recommended that clean up operations like closing the DB
resources to keep inside a finally block?
Because finally block is always executed whether exceptions are raised in the try block
or not and raised exceptions are caught in the catch block or not. By keeping the clean
up operations in finally block, you will ensure that those operations will be always
executed irrespective of whether exception is occurred or not.

19) What is the difference between final, finally and finalize in Java?
Click here to see the differences between final, finally and finalize in Java.

20) How do you create customized exceptions in Java?

Click here to see about customized exceptions in Java.

21) What is ClassCastException in Java?

ClassCastException is a RunTimeException which occurs when JVM unable to cast an
object of one type to another type.

22) What is the difference between throw, throws and throwable in Java?
Click here to see the differences between throw, throws and throwable in Java.

23) What is StackOverflowError in Java?

StackOverflowError is an error which is thrown by the JVM when stack overflows.

24) Can we override a super class method which is throwing an unchecked

exception with checked exception in the sub class?
No. If a super class method is throwing an unchecked exception, then it can be
overridden in the sub class with same exception or any other unchecked exceptions but
can not be overridden with checked exceptions.
26) Which class is the super class for all types of errors and exceptions in Java?
java.lang.Throwable is the super class for all types of errors and exceptions in Java.

27) What are the legal combinations of try, catch and finally blocks?
1) try
{
//try block
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
//catch block
}

2)
try
{
//try block
}
finally
{
//finally block
}
3)try
{
//try block
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
//catch block
}
finally
{
//finally block
}

28) What is the use of printStackTrace() method?

printStackTrace() method is used to print the detailed information about the exception
occurred.

29) Give some examples to checked exceptions?

ClassNotFoundException, SQLException, IOException

30) Give some examples to unchecked exceptions?

NullPointerException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, NumberFormatException

31) Do you know try-with-resources blocks? Why do we use them? When they are
introduced?
Try-with-resources blocks are introduced from Java 7 to auto-close the resources like
File I/O streams, Database connection, network connection etc… used in the try block.
You need not to close the resources explicitly in your code. Try-with-resources implicitly
closes all the resources used in the try block.

32) What are the benefits of try-with-resources?

The main benefit of try-with-resources is that it avoids resource leaks that could happen
if we don’t close the resources properly after they are used. Another benefit of
try-with-resources is that it removes redundant statements in the code and thus
improves the readability of the code.
33) What are the changes made to exception handling from Java 7?
Multi-catch exceptions and try-with-resources are two major changes made to exception
handling from Java 7. Click here to see Java 7 exception handling changes.

34) What are the improvements made to try-with-resources in Java 9?

Click here to see the improvements made to try-with-resources in Java 9.