How do I diagnose "Unhandled Exceptions" in Java?

Question

In a Java program I am currently getting "Unhandled Exception" at a certain point in the program and I can't seem to determine the location where this is being generated.

Its also difficult to debug the code as the program contains streams that handle wireless data bytes sent and received. I can't seem to simulate that with a debugger.

What strategy should I adopt to locate the Exception?

Answer 1

If you don't have a stacktrace, you can't do much.

If it is actually caused at the other side and you received this as a message, then you should ask the other side for a stacktrace or similar information.

Edit: you should of course ensure that your own code isn't swallowing exceptions like as:

} catch (Exception e) {
    // Do nothing.
}

or

} catch (Exception e) {
    System.out.println("Error");
}

or

} catch (Exception e) {
    System.out.println(e.toString());
}

To get the most information out of exceptions, you should do at least:

} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

or just

} catch (Exception e) {
    throw e;
}

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You could put a try-catch(Exception ex) block around sections of code and move it around/tighten the block and have it log the exception being thrown. As long as there isn't too much code you should be able to track it down in a few runs.

Answer 3

Implement the Thread.UncaughtExceptionHandler interface and use setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler() to set it.

Sample program as courtesy. If you use multiple threads you also could just set the handler on threads you suspect to be the culprits.

public class Test {
  public static void main(String args[]) {
      new Test();
  }
  public Test() {
      Thread.setDefaultUncaughtExceptionHandler(new MyUncaughtExceptionHandler());
      // or if a default handler is set you can also use setUncaughtExceptionHandler
      // check the javadocs for the specifics
      throw new RuntimeException ("You can't get me or can you?");
  }
  class MyUncaughtExceptionHandler implements Thread.UncaughtExceptionHandler {
      public void uncaughtException(Thread t, Throwable e) {
          System.err.println ("Uncaught exception by " + t + " caught:");
          e.printStackTrace();
      }
  }
}

Answer 4

But as I run the program the device shows "Unhandled Exception" and asks me whether to close the app.

First you need to find the place in the code that is generating this message. It sounds like the app has a GUI or whatever, so it is possible a Dialog of some kind.

Next, find the place in the code that is causing the message/dialog to be created. It is likely to be either

• a try / catch block that catches Exception or Throwable, or
• an UncaughtExceptionHandler.

In either case, the next thing is to add some code to cause the app to output a stacktrace for the uncaught exception. Assuming that ex holds a reference to the exception object:

    ex.printStackTrace();

will write a stack trace to the standard error stream; e.g. the "console". (There are more heavy-weight solutions if you cannot find where "console" output goes to.)

Answer 5

Sounds like you've got an unchecked RuntimeException happening somewhere. You could easily try it in your main() method with try { } catch(Throwable t) { t.printStackTrace(); }

Or if you remotely debug it with an IDE like Eclipse, you can set it up to trigger the debugger on a Java exception breakpoint with "Suspend on uncaught exceptions". Some docs here.