except — Intermediate Playground

Catches and handles exceptions raised in a try block

Python Playground

# Catch multiple types in one except
try:
    d = {}
    print(d["key"])
except (KeyError, IndexError) as e:
    print(f"Lookup failed: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")

# Exception hierarchy
try:
    int("abc")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Caught via base class: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")

# Order matters: specific before general
def safe_convert(value):
    try:
        return int(value)
    except ValueError:
        print(f"  ValueError for {value!r}")
        return None
    except TypeError:
        print(f"  TypeError for {value!r}")
        return None
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"  Unexpected: {e}")
        return None

for v in ["42", "abc", None, 3.14]:
    print(f"{v!r} -> {safe_convert(v)}")

Output

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Catch specific exceptions first, then broader ones. All exceptions inherit from BaseException; most user-facing ones inherit from Exception.

Challenge

Try modifying the code above to explore different behaviors. Can you extend the example to handle a new use case?

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