Course Content
Error Handling in Python
Error Handling in Python
Difference between Exceptions and Errors
In Python, both Exception
and Error
are related to handling unexpected situations in code, but they serve different purposes and have distinct meanings.
Exception
An Exception
is a Python object that represents an exceptional event or an error condition that occurs during the execution of a program. Exceptions are used to signal and handle errors or other events in a way that allows the program to gracefully recover from unexpected situations. In Python, exceptions can be raised by the program or by the Python interpreter itself.
Error
In Python, the term "Error" is often used more broadly to refer to any unexpected or erroneous condition that can lead to the termination of the program or cause undesired behavior. This includes both exceptions and more severe issues that are not intended to be caught and handled explicitly by the code.
Errors can be categorized into three main types:
- Syntax Errors: These are raised by the Python interpreter when it encounters invalid syntax in the code. They prevent the code from running and must be fixed before the program can be executed.
- Logical Errors (Bugs): These are issues in the code logic that lead to incorrect output or behavior. Logical errors do not raise exceptions but can cause the program to behave unexpectedly.
- Runtime Errors (Exceptions): As mentioned earlier, these are exceptions that occur during program execution due to unexpected conditions, such as dividing by zero, accessing a non-existent key in a dictionary, or converting incompatible data types.
Example of a syntax error:
if x > 5 # Syntax Error - missing colon print("x is greater than 5.")
Overall, while "Error" is a broader term encompassing all unexpected issues, "Exception" specifically refers to a special type of error and special events that can be handled and recovered by using try-except
blocks in Python.
Summary
Exception | Events in your code during code execution. |
Error | Bugs, Syntax mistakes, and certain exception types. |
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