Error Handling Patterns
Build resilient applications with robust error handling strategies that gracefully handle failures and provide excellent debugging experiences.
When to Use This Skill
- Implementing error handling in new features
- Designing error-resilient APIs
- Debugging production issues
- Improving application reliability
- Creating better error messages for users and developers
- Implementing retry and circuit breaker patterns
- Handling async/concurrent errors
- Building fault-tolerant distributed systems
Core Concepts
1. Error Handling Philosophies
Exceptions vs Result Types:
- Exceptions: Traditional try-catch, disrupts control flow
- Result Types: Explicit success/failure, functional approach
- Error Codes: C-style, requires discipline
- Option/Maybe Types: For nullable values
When to Use Each:
- Exceptions: Unexpected errors, exceptional conditions
- Result Types: Expected errors, validation failures
- Panics/Crashes: Unrecoverable errors, programming bugs
2. Error Categories
Recoverable Errors:
- Network timeouts
- Missing files
- Invalid user input
- API rate limits
Unrecoverable Errors:
- Out of memory
- Stack overflow
- Programming bugs (null pointer, etc.)
Language-Specific Patterns
Python Error Handling
Custom Exception Hierarchy:
python
class ApplicationError(Exception):
"""Base exception for all application errors."""
def __init__(self, message: str, code: str = None, details: dict = None):
super().__init__(message)
self.code = code
self.details = details or {}
self.timestamp = datetime.utcnow()
class ValidationError(ApplicationError):
"""Raised when validation fails."""
pass
class NotFoundError(ApplicationError):
"""Raised when resource not found."""
pass
class ExternalServiceError(ApplicationError):
"""Raised when external service fails."""
def __init__(self, message: str, service: str, **kwargs):
super().__init__(message, **kwargs)
self.service = service
# Usage
def get_user(user_id: str) -> User:
user = db.query(User).filter_by(id=user_id).first()
if not user:
raise NotFoundError(
f"User not found",
code="USER_NOT_FOUND",
details={"user_id": user_id}
)
return user
Context Managers for Cleanup:
python
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def database_transaction(session):
"""Ensure transaction is committed or rolled back."""
try:
yield session
session.commit()
except Exception as e:
session.rollback()
raise
finally:
session.close()
# Usage
with database_transaction(db.session) as session:
user = User(name="Alice")
session.add(user)
# Automatic commit or rollback
Retry with Exponential Backoff:
python
import time
from functools import wraps
from typing import TypeVar, Callable
T = TypeVar('T')
def retry(
max_attempts: int = 3,
backoff_factor: float = 2.0,
exceptions: tuple = (Exception,)
):
"""Retry decorator with exponential backoff."""
def decorator(func: Callable[..., T]) -> Callable[..., T]:
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs) -> T:
last_exception = None
for attempt in range(max_attempts):
try:
return func(*args, **kwargs)
except exceptions as e:
last_exception = e
if attempt < max_attempts - 1:
sleep_time = backoff_factor ** attempt
time.sleep(sleep_time)
continue
raise
raise last_exception
return wrapper
return decorator
# Usage
@retry(max_attempts=3, exceptions=(NetworkError,))
def fetch_data(url: str) -> dict:
response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()
TypeScript/JavaScript Error Handling
Custom Error Classes:
typescript
// Custom error classes
class ApplicationError extends Error {
constructor(
message: string,
public code: string,
public statusCode: number = 500,
public details?: Record<string, any>
) {
super(message);
this.name = this.constructor.name;
Error.captureStackTrace(this, this.constructor);
}
}
class ValidationError extends ApplicationError {
constructor(message: string, details?: Record<string, any>) {
super(message, 'VALIDATION_ERROR', 400, details);
}
}
class NotFoundError extends ApplicationError {
constructor(resource: string, id: string) {
super(
`${resource} not found`,
'NOT_FOUND',
404,
{ resource, id }
);
}
}
// Usage
function getUser(id: string): User {
const user = users.find(u => u.id === id);
if (!user) {
throw new NotFoundError('User', id);
}
return user;
}
Result Type Pattern:
typescript
// Result type for explicit error handling
type Result<T, E = Error> =
| { ok: true; value: T }
| { ok: false; error: E };
// Helper functions
function Ok<T>(value: T): Result<T, never> {
return { ok: true, value };
}
function Err<E>(error: E): Result<never, E> {
return { ok: false, error };
}
// Usage
function parseJSON<T>(json: string): Result<T, SyntaxError> {
try {
const value = JSON.parse(json) as T;
return Ok(value);
} catch (error) {
return Err(error as SyntaxError);
}
}
// Consuming Result
const result = parseJSON<User>(userJson);
if (result.ok) {
console.log(result.value.name);
} else {
console.error('Parse failed:', result.error.message);
}
// Chaining Results
function chain<T, U, E>(
result: Result<T, E>,
fn: (value: T) => Result<U, E>
): Result<U, E> {
return result.ok ? fn(result.value) : result;
}
Async Error Handling:
typescript
// Async/await with proper error handling
async function fetchUserOrders(userId: string): Promise<Order[]> {
try {
const user = await getUser(userId);
const orders = await getOrders(user.id);
return orders;
} catch (error) {
if (error instanceof NotFoundError) {
return []; // Return empty array for not found
}
if (error instanceof NetworkError) {
// Retry logic
return retryFetchOrders(userId);
}
// Re-throw unexpected errors
throw error;
}
}
// Promise error handling
function fetchData(url: string): Promise<Data> {
return fetch(url)
.then(response => {
if (!response.ok) {
throw new NetworkError(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
}
return response.json();
})
.catch(error => {
console.error('Fetch failed:', error);
throw error;
});
}
Rust Error Handling
Result and Option Types:
rust
use std::fs::File;
use std::io::{self, Read};
// Result type for operations that can fail
fn read_file(path: &str) -> Result<String, io::Error> {
let mut file = File::open(path)?; // ? operator propagates errors
let mut contents = String::new();
file.read_to_string(&mut contents)?;
Ok(contents)
}
// Custom error types
#[derive(Debug)]
enum AppError {
Io(io::Error),
Parse(std::num::ParseIntError),
NotFound(String),
Validation(String),
}
impl From<io::Error> for AppError {
fn from(error: io::Error) -> Self {
AppError::Io(error)
}
}
// Using custom error type
fn read_number_from_file(path: &str) -> Result<i32, AppError> {
let contents = read_file(path)?; // Auto-converts io::Error
let number = contents.trim().parse()
.map_err(AppError::Parse)?; // Explicitly convert ParseIntError
Ok(number)
}
// Option for nullable values
fn find_user(id: &str) -> Option<User> {
users.iter().find(|u| u.id == id).cloned()
}
// Combining Option and Result
fn get_user_age(id: &str) -> Result<u32, AppError> {
find_user(id)
.ok_or_else(|| AppError::NotFound(id.to_string()))
.map(|user| user.age)
}
Go Error Handling
Explicit Error Returns:
go
// Basic error handling
func getUser(id string) (*User, error) {
user, err := db.QueryUser(id)
if err != nil {
return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to query user: %w", err)
}
if user == nil {
return nil, errors.New("user not found")
}
return user, nil
}
// Custom error types
type ValidationError struct {
Field string
Message string
}
func (e *ValidationError) Error() string {
return fmt.Sprintf("validation failed for %s: %s", e.Field, e.Message)
}
// Sentinel errors for comparison
var (
ErrNotFound = errors.New("not found")
ErrUnauthorized = errors.New("unauthorized")
ErrInvalidInput = errors.New("invalid input")
)
// Error checking
user, err := getUser("123")
if err != nil {
if errors.Is(err, ErrNotFound) {
// Handle not found
} else {
// Handle other errors
}
}
// Error wrapping and unwrapping
func processUser(id string) error {
user, err := getUser(id)
if err != nil {
return fmt.Errorf("process user failed: %w", err)
}
// Process user
return nil
}
// Unwrap errors
err := processUser("123")
if err != nil {
var valErr *ValidationError
if errors.As(err, &valErr) {
fmt.Printf("Validation error: %s\n", valErr.Field)
}
}
Universal Patterns
Pattern 1: Circuit Breaker
Prevent cascading failures in distributed systems.
python
from enum import Enum
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from typing import Callable, TypeVar
T = TypeVar('T')
class CircuitState(Enum):
CLOSED = "closed" # Normal operation
OPEN = "open" # Failing, reject requests
HALF_OPEN = "half_open" # Testing if recovered
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(
self,
failure_threshold: int = 5,
timeout: timedelta = timedelta(seconds=60),
success_threshold: int = 2
):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.timeout = timeout
self.success_threshold = success_threshold
self.failure_count = 0
self.success_count = 0
self.state = CircuitState.CLOSED
self.last_failure_time = None
def call(self, func: Callable[[], T]) -> T:
if self.state == CircuitState.OPEN:
if datetime.now() - self.last_failure_time > self.timeout:
self.state = CircuitState.HALF_OPEN
self.success_count = 0
else:
raise Exception("Circuit breaker is OPEN")
try:
result = func()
self.on_success()
return result
except Exception as e:
self.on_failure()
raise
def on_success(self):
self.failure_count = 0
if self.state == CircuitState.HALF_OPEN:
self.success_count += 1
if self.success_count >= self.success_threshold:
self.state = CircuitState.CLOSED
self.success_count = 0
def on_failure(self):
self.failure_count += 1
self.last_failure_time = datetime.now()
if self.failure_count >= self.failure_threshold:
self.state = CircuitState.OPEN
# Usage
circuit_breaker = CircuitBreaker()
def fetch_data():
return circuit_breaker.call(lambda: external_api.get_data())
Pattern 2: Error Aggregation
Collect multiple errors instead of failing on first error.
typescript
class ErrorCollector {
private errors: Error[] = [];
add(error: Error): void {
this.errors.push(error);
}
hasErrors(): boolean {
return this.errors.length > 0;
}