Python Tutorial Part 6 : Error Handling and Exception Handling

In this article, we'll explore error handling and exception handling in Python.

Errors in Python

Errors can occur in Python programs due to various reasons, such as syntax errors, runtime errors, and logical errors.

Syntax Error:

print("Hello, World!")

In this example, we forgot to close the parentheses, resulting in a syntax error.

Runtime Error:

age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
print("You are " + age + " years old.")

In this example, if the user enters a non-integer value, it will result in a runtime error when trying to concatenate a string with an integer.

Logical Error:

def calculate_area(length, width):
    return length * width

# Correcting the formula to calculate area
def calculate_area(length, width):
    return length * width * 2

In this example, the initial implementation of the calculate_area function had a logical error where it incorrectly calculated the area of a rectangle.

Exception Handling

Python provides a mechanism for handling errors using try, except, finally, and else blocks.

Example:

try:
    age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
    print("You are " + age + " years old.")
except ValueError:
    print("Please enter a valid integer.")
finally:
    print("Thank you for using our program.")

In this example, we attempt to convert user input to an integer. If the conversion fails due to a ValueError, we catch the exception and display an error message. The finally block ensures that cleanup code is executed regardless of whether an exception occurs.

Conclusion

Error handling and exception handling are essential concepts in Python programming. By understanding how to identify and handle errors effectively, you can write more robust and reliable code.