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Software Engineering vocabulary · Debugging and Troubleshooting

Exception

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ɪkˈsepʃən/nounCommon term

In software engineering, exception means: An error event that interrupts the normal flow of a program. The code can catch and handle it, or it can make the program crash.

In Turkish: istisna, hata, aykırı durum

How it is used

In Java, C# and JavaScript code 'throws' exceptions; in Python it 'raises' them. You catch, handle, log and sometimes wrongly swallow exceptions. 'Unhandled exception' and 'null pointer exception' are classic phrases.

Example sentences

  1. The parser throws an exception if the date format is wrong.

  2. Don't just catch the exception and ignore it. At least log it.

Common collocations

  • throw an exception
  • catch an exception
  • handle an exception
  • unhandled exception
  • null pointer exception
  • stack traceA report printed when an error happens, listing the chain of function calls that led to it, with file names and line numbers.
  • crashTo stop working suddenly because of an error, so that the program closes or stops responding. Also a noun: 'a crash'.
  • logA record of events, messages and errors that a program writes while it runs, used later to understand what happened. Also a verb: to log an error.
  • bugA mistake in a program that makes it behave in a way nobody intended, such as showing wrong results, freezing or closing suddenly.

More terms: Debugging and Troubleshooting

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