Why is UnknownHostException not caught in Exception (java)?

Question

My code looks like this :

try
{
   String htmlPageText=readFromHtml("http://www.yahoo.com");
}
catch (Exception e)
{
  System.out.println("===Here===");
}

Method readFromHtml() will take a URL and return an HTML page. Normally it works fine. But I'm trying to simulate a "site down" situation, so I unplugged the Internet connection. I thought, the error should be caught and the result will be "===Here===", but instead, it returned:

java.net.UnknownHostException: http://www.yahoo.com"

and never printed out "===Here===". UnknownHostException is an extension of java.lang.Exception, so why was it not caught in the catch clause? Do I need a catch (UnknownHostException ex) to get it?

There's nothing wrong with the code you have posted. I suspect the problem lies in the readFromHtml method. — Dan Dyer
– Dan Dyer, Commented Feb 10, 2011 at 16:34

Dunaril · Accepted Answer · 2011-02-10 16:33:39Z

3

What is the readFromHTML method source code ? My guess is that this method throws some kind of exception but not UnknownHostException... Somewhere else in your code the exception is left unhandled.

answered Feb 10, 2011 at 16:33

Dunaril

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2 Comments

Frank Over a year ago

Great "catch", you got it ! I looked into it and it has this : "catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); }" in it. Thanks !

Dunaril Over a year ago

I wrote something not very accurate then. The exception was actually handled somewhere else :) It would be good if you edit your answer with the code of the method, for future bypassers.

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