How to use Python try except finally

Python provides us with the functionality to handle run-time errors in the program. These errors are also called exceptions. Exceptions occur when a program fails to execute a particular statement. In this Answer, we will explore how we can handle exceptions in the code and what happens if we do not handle exceptions or errors correctly.

Uncaught exceptions

Using the following coding example, let's get an idea of what happens if we do not handle exceptions or errors in our code. Please click "Run" to execute the code below:

print("Welcome")
print("to")
print(educative)
print("This line does not print because the program crashes on the previous statement")
Code block with unhandled exception

We can see the code explanation below:

  • Line 3: We forcefully create an error by printing educative without converting it to a string ( i.e., "educative"). educative is being dealt with as a variable instead of a string which causes the program to crash as no variable with the name educative is defined in the program. The program halts and raises an exception. As the exception is not handled, the code after line 3 does not execute, and our program crashes.

Handling exceptions

Handling exceptions is an essential part of writing programs and creating applications. Imagine if we have a large-scale application and an error occurs while running. This will cause the whole application to crash. Therefore, Python provides us with tryThis is the code in which we are checking for the error to occur., exceptThis is the code that executes if an error occurs in the try block., elseThis is the code that executes if the try block runs without any exceptions., and finallyThis code block executes every time, whether the try block generates an error or not. blocks so that if an error occurs, they are handled, allowing the application to run smoothly without crashing. The benefit of using try and except can be seen by clicking the "Run" button below:

print("Welcome")
print("to")
try:
  print(educative)
except:
  pass
print("The program kept on executing because we handled the exception")

In the code above, the execution continues even when the error occurs at line 4. In line 6, we use the pass statement. It is a null operation statement used as a placeholder for code blocks where no action is needed.

Coding example

We will see coding examples showing the use of try, except, else, and finally blocks in error handling.

try block without error

Please click the "Run" button below to execute the code:

try:
  print("Try block executing")
except:
  print("Error occurred in the try block")
else:
  print("Else block exectuing")
finally:
  print("Finally block always runs")

The code explanation is given below:

  • Lines 1–2: We create try block with a simple print statement of "Try block executing".

  • Lines 3–4: We create except block with a print statement "Error occured in the try block". As there is no error in the try block, the except block does not execute.

  • Lines 5–6: We create the else block with the print statement "Else block executing". We see this statement in the console as there was no error in the try block. The else block was executed.

  • Lines 7–8: We create the finally block that prints the statement "Finally block always runs". We see this statement in the console because the finally block executes every time.

try block with error

In the previous example, we saw how the try, except, else, and finally blocks execute if there is no error in the try block. In the following example, we will see what happens if an error occurs in the try block.

Please click the "Run" button to see the code in action:

try:
  print(Try)
except:
  print("Error occurred in the try block")
else:
  print("Else block exectuing")
finally:
  print("Finally block always runs")

We can see the code explanation below:

  • Lines 1–2: We generate an error in the print statement as no variable named Try is in the code.

  • Lines 3–4: The except block runs as an error is generated in the try block. We see "Error occurred in the try block" in the output box.

  • Lines 5–6: We see that the else block does not execute.

  • Lines 7–8: The finally block executes every time, regardless of whether an error occurs or not.

Conclusions

By utilizing try, except, else, and finally blocks in Python, we can easily handle exceptions in the program. This helps us make the programs robust by controlling the programs in case of success and failure.

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