Catching only the generic Exception type makes error handling less precise and harder to maintain. When you catch
Exception, you’re handling all possible errors the same way, which can mask important differences between error types.
Specific exception types like MathException, DMLException, QueryException, and ListException
provide valuable information about what went wrong. Each type represents a different category of problem that might need different handling
strategies.
For example, a DMLException might indicate a data validation issue that could be resolved by showing a user-friendly message, while a
QueryException might suggest a more serious system problem that requires logging and investigation.
When you catch specific exceptions first, you can:
- Provide more targeted error messages to users
- Apply appropriate recovery strategies for different error types
- Log different types of errors with appropriate severity levels
- Make your code’s intent clearer to other developers
Using only generic Exception catching also makes it harder to identify which specific errors your code might encounter, reducing the
effectiveness of testing and debugging.
What is the potential impact?
Using generic exception catching can lead to poor error handling, making it difficult to diagnose issues and provide appropriate user feedback. It
can also mask serious system problems by treating all errors the same way.
