Exceptions are handy Gotos and flags. Let's abuse them.

TL;DR: Do not use exceptions for flow control.

Problems

• Readability

• Principle of least astonishment Violation.

Solutions

1. Use Exceptions just for unexpected situations.

2. Exceptions handle contract violations. Read the contract.

Sample Code

Wrong

try {
    for (int i = 0;; i++)
        array[i]++;
    } catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {}

//Endless loop without end condition

Right

for (int index = 0; index < array.length; index++)
        array[index]++;

//index < array.length breaks execution

Detection

This is a semantic smell. Unless we use machine learning linters it will be very difficult to find the mistakes.

Tags

• Readability

Conclusion

Exceptions are handy, and we should definitively use them instead of returning codes.

The boundary between correct usage and wrong usage is blur like so many design principles.

Relations

Code Smell 72 - Return Codes

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Code Smell 26 - Exceptions Polluting

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More info

• Don't use exceptions for flow control

• Java Zone

• Stack Exchange

• Stack Overflow

Credits

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

When debugging, novices insert corrective code; experts remove defective code.

Richard Pattis

Software Engineering Great Quotes

Maxi Contieri ・ Dec 28 '20

#codenewbie #programming #quotes #software

This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

How to Find the Stinky parts of your Code

Maxi Contieri ・ May 21 '21

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