Java Multiple Catch Block

In Java, exception handling allows a program to deal with runtime errors gracefully. Sometimes, a single try block can throw different types of exceptions, and Java provides two ways to handle such scenarios:

• Using multiple catch blocks (Java 6 and earlier)
• Using a single catch block to handle multiple exceptions (Java 7 and later)

Example: Handling Multiple Exceptions

Arithmetic Exception occurred

Syntax

try {
// code that may throw exceptions
} catch (ExceptionType1 | ExceptionType2 ex) {
// exception handling code
}

Parameters: "ex" -> Exception object

Return Type: catch block does not return any value

Multiple Catch Block in Java

Starting from Java 7, Java introduced the multi-catch feature, allowing a single catch block to handle multiple exception types using the pipe (|) operator. This enhancement:

Syntax:

Note: The exception parameter ex is implicitly final in a multi-catch block.

Flow Chart of Java Multiple Catch Block

Example:

Exception caught: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "ABC"

Explanation:

• Either NumberFormatException or ArithmeticException can occur
• Both are handled using a single catch block

Important Points:

• Multi-catch is allowed only from Java 7 onwards.
• All exception types must be separated using the pipe symbol |.
• Parent and child exceptions cannot be combined in a multi-catch block.

Invalid Example:

try {

int num = Integer.parseInt("XYZ");

} catch (NumberFormatException | Exception ex) {

System.out.println(ex);

}

Explanation:

• Exception is the parent class of NumberFormatException
• Catching both causes redundancy, as the parent already handles the child
• Java compiler throws an error