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CodeGym /Java Blog /Java Exceptions /Java Catch Multiple Exceptions Author John Selawsky Senior Java Developer and Tutor at LearningTree

• 9 June 2022
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Java Catch Multiple Exceptions Published in the Java Exceptions group Join Before learning about catching multiple exceptions, you need to be familiar with basic exception handling in Java. Moving forward, we assume you are familiar with a try and catch block in Java.

Why do we need multiple catch blocks in Java?

Multiple catch blocks in Java are used to handle different types of exceptions. Before Java 7 was launched, we needed a specific catch block to catch a specific exception. This created blocks of redundant code and hence resulted in an inefficient approach. Have a look at the following example to witness caught exceptions. It uses separate catch blocks for different kinds of exceptions.

Example using Separate Catch Blocks

import java.util.Arrays; public class ExceptionHandler { public static void main(String[] args) { Integer[] colorsOfASpectrum = { 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 }; try { System.out.println("Total number of options on a dice are: " + Arrays.toString(colorsOfASpectrum)); // un-comment the following line to see "Index Out of Bounds Exception" // colorsOfASpectrum[10] = 7; // Index Out of Bounds Exception System.out.println(colorsOfASpectrum[0] / 0); // Arithmetic Exception } catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) { // This catch block executes in case of "Index Out of Bounds Exception" System.out.println("Array Index Out Of Bounds Exception " + e); } catch (ArithmeticException e) { // This catch block executes in case of "Arithmetic Exception" System.out.println("Arithmetic Exception " + e); } System.out.println("\n----Rest of the code executes here----"); } }

Output

Total colors on a spectrum are: [7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1] Exception Encountered java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero ----Rest of the code executes here---- As you can see, in the example above a different block is executed when an exception is thrown. There is a more efficient way to catch multiple exceptions using the same block of code for catching exceptions of different types. Have a look at the following example.

Example using Multiple Catch Block in Java

import java.util.Arrays; public class MultiExceptionHandler { public static void main(String[] args) { Integer[] colorsOfASpectrum = { 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 }; try { System.out.println("Total colors on a spectrum are: " + Arrays.toString(colorsOfASpectrum)); // colorsOfASpectrum[10] = 7; // Index Out of Bounds Exception System.out.println(colorsOfASpectrum[0] / 0); // Arithmetic Exception } catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException | ArithmeticException e) { // We don't need two different catch blocks for different kinds of exceptions // Both exceptions will be handled using this multiple catch block System.out.println("Exception Encountered " + e); } System.out.println("\n----Rest of the code executes here----"); } }

Output

You can un-comment line 13 for printing out the exception of other kind. Total colors on a spectrum are: [7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1] Exception Encountered java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero ----Rest of the code executes here----

Conclusion

This was a quick overview of using java catch multiple exceptions block. As a challenge, try printing the parent and the child exception in the same block. You’re encouraged to learn and practise to grow. Cheers and happy learning! John Selawsky Senior Java Developer and Tutor at LearningTree A senior Java developer and Java tutor at Learning Tree International programming courses. Sometimes I write some stupid programmi ... [Read full bio] Comments TO VIEW ALL COMMENTS OR TO MAKE A COMMENT, GO TO FULL VERSION