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W3Schools
w3schools.com › java › java_try_catch.asp
Java Exceptions (Try...Catch)
assert abstract boolean break byte case catch char class continue default do double else enum exports extends final finally float for if implements import instanceof int interface long module native new package private protected public return requires short static super switch synchronized this throw throws transient try var void volatile while Java String Methods
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › java › ref_keyword_throws.asp
Java throws Keyword
The throws keyword indicates what exception type may be thrown by a method. There are many exception types available in Java: ArithmeticException, ClassNotFoundException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, SecurityException, etc.
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Netlify
w3schools.netlify.app › learnjava › ref_keyword_throw.html
Java throw keyword
Throw an exception if age is below ... void main(String[] args) { checkAge(15); // Set age to 15 (which is below 18...) } } ... The throw keyword is used to create a custom error....
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › java › throw-throws-java
throw and throws in Java - GeeksforGeeks
Explanation: The above example ... to division by zero. throws is a keyword in Java that is used in the signature of a method to indicate that this method might throw one of the listed type exceptions....
Published   August 5, 2025
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W3Schools Blog
w3schools.blog › home › throw keyword in java
throw keyword in java - W3schools
August 29, 2014 - }catch(ArithmeticException e){ //throw exception. throw e; } System.out.println("Remaining code after exception handling."); } } public class ExceptionThrowExample { public static void main(String args[]){ //creating ArithmaticTest object ArithmaticTest obj = new ArithmaticTest(); //method call obj.division(20, 0); } } Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero at com.w3spoint.business.ArithmaticTest.division (ExceptionThrowExample.java:17) at com.w3spoint.business.ExceptionThrowExample.main (ExceptionThrowExample.java:33)
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W3schools
w3schools.tech › tutorial › java › java_throw_exception
Java - Throws and Throw: Understanding Exception Handling - Java Error & Exceptions - W3schools
Java Error & Exceptions: Java - Throws and Throw: Understanding Exception Handling Hello there, future Java programmers! Today, we're going to embark on an exciting journey into the world of exception han...
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W3Schools
w3schools.in › java › questions-answers › difference-between-throw-and-throws-in-java
Difference Between throw and throws in Java - W3Schools
The throw and throws are the two keywords used in exception handling. In this article, you will learn about how both of them are different from one another.
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w3resource
w3resource.com › java-exercises › exception › index.php
Java Exception Handling - Exercises, Solutions, and Practices
This section covers how to catch and handle exceptions. It includes try, catch, and finally block, as well as chained exceptions and logging exercises. ... Write a Java program that throws an exception and catch it using a try-catch block.
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W3Schools Blog
w3schools.blog › home › throw and throws in java
Difference between throw and throws in java? - w3schools.blog
April 23, 2018 - Difference between throw and throws in java : throw is used to throw an exception object explicitly. It can take only one argument and that will be an exception object.
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Rollbar
rollbar.com › home › how to throw exceptions in java
How to Throw Exceptions in Java | Rollbar
2 weeks ago - The detailMessage parameter gives the details of the message for this exception, and the throwable parameter gives the cause of this exception. The key takeaway: every exception needs a message explaining what went wrong, and optionally a cause pointing to the underlying exception that triggered it. Java’s built-in exceptions don’t always provide the information we need.
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Oracle
docs.oracle.com › javase › tutorial › essential › exceptions › throwing.html
How to Throw Exceptions (The Java™ Tutorials > Essential Java Classes > Exceptions)
The pop method checks to see whether any elements are on the stack. If the stack is empty (its size is equal to 0), pop instantiates a new EmptyStackException object (a member of java.util) and throws it. The Creating Exception Classes section in this chapter explains how to create your own exception classes.
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W3Schools
w3schools.com › java › ref_keyword_try.asp
Java try Keyword
Java Examples Java Compiler Java ... myNumbers = {1, 2, 3}; System.out.println(myNumbers[10]); } catch (Exception e) { System.out.println("Something went wrong."); }...
Top answer
1 of 5
53

You can manage an exception within a method using try and catch as you say. In that case, you do not need to use throws. For example:

public void myMethod()
{
  try {
    /* Code that might throw an exception */
  }
  catch (SpaceInvadersException exception) {
    /* Complicated error handling code */
  }
}

But suppose you had a thousand methods, all of which might throw a SpaceInvadersException. Then you would end up having to write all the complicated error handling code a thousand times. Of course, you could always create an ErrorHandler class with a dealWithSpaceInvadersException() method that you could call from them, but you'd still be stuck with a thousand try-catch blocks.

Instead, you tell the compiler that each of these thousand methods could throw a SpaceInvadersException. Then any method that calls one of these methods needs to deal with the error itself, either by using a try-catch, or by telling the compiler that it might throw a SpaceInvadersException. This is done using the throws keyword, like this:

public void myMethod() throws SpaceInvadersException
{
  /* Code that might throw an exception */
}

public void callingMethod()
{
  try {
    myMethod();
  }
  catch (SpaceInvadersException exception) {
    /* Complicated error handling code */
  }
}

In that case, you need to inform the compiler that myMethod could throw a SpaceInvadersException. This means that you can't call that method without dealing with the exception in some way (try-catch or using the throws keyword on the calling method). If throws weren't there, you could call the method without doing any exception handling, and get an exception that wasn't dealt with anywhere in the program (which would be bad).

Since it is always better to avoid code duplication, it is normally better to palm off your error handling to a try-catch in a much higher level function than it is to deal with it separately in all of the low level methods. That is why this mechanism exists.

2 of 5
6

The throws keyword declares that the exception can be thrown out of the method.

You can also use a catch block to catch an exception inside the method. If you catch it and don't rethrow it, then it's not thrown out of the method.

A throws declaration allows compile-time verification that a method either:

  • Catches the exceptions it throws, including those from the methods it calls.
  • Or declares them, so that its callers can make the same check.
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DataCamp
datacamp.com › doc › java › throw
throw Keyword in Java: Usage & Examples
Learn how to use the `throw` keyword in Java to manage exceptions effectively. This guide covers syntax, examples, and best practices for handling both checked and unchecked exceptions.
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BeginnersBook
beginnersbook.com › 2013 › 04 › throw-in-java
How to throw exception in java with example
For example, we can throw ArithmeticException when we divide number by 5, or any other numbers, what we need to do is just set the condition and throw any exception using throw keyword. Throw keyword can also be used for throwing custom exceptions, I have covered that in a separate tutorial, ...
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › difference-between-throw-and-throws-in-java
Difference between throw and throws in Java
Both throw and throws are the concepts of exception handing in which throw is used to explicitly throw an exception from a method or any block of code while throws are used in the signature of the method to indicate that this method might throw one of the listed type exceptions.
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JetBrains
blog.jetbrains.com › idea › 2024 › 03 › easy-hacks-how-to-throw-java-exceptions
Easy Hacks: How to Throw Java Exceptions | The IntelliJ IDEA Blog
March 12, 2024 - Note that this is also true for exceptions that may occur in third-party code, such as java.nio. In the following screenshot, you’ll see the readString method may throw an IOException, and IntelliJ IDEA again suggests either adding the exception to the method signature (throws IOException) or handling the exception using a try/catch block.
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Programiz
programiz.com › java-programming › throw-throws
Java throw and throws Keyword
In this tutorial, you will learn to use throw and throws keyword for exception handling with the help of examples. We use the throws keyword in the method declaration to declare the type of exceptions that might occur within it.