Java - make custom runtime error not dump trace

Question

I have a kludgey use of Java RuntimeError in which I fully handle the error. Only problem is it gives me annoying trace telling me where the runtime error that I derived and threw occurred. How to suppress this trace?

For reference, the issue is I subclassed a non-throwing class and needed my subclass to throw. It was either "rewrite my program to read like a C program" or "use runtime error to bypass throw specification requirement." Obviously I'm finding the throw spec requirement very counterproductive right now - other workarounds that don't involve maintaining a bunch of "workIsDone" variables would be appreciated.

What a Java RuntimeError is? Is there any class named RuntimeError? From which package? — JeanValjean
– JeanValjean, Commented Apr 25, 2012 at 17:42

Ernest Friedman-Hill · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-25 17:39:12Z

1

Without code it's awfully hard to know what you're talking about, but in general, stack traces come from a handler catching an exceptions and calling printStackTrace() on it. The stack trace doesn't appear unless something asks for it. Now, if an exception makes it all the way to the top of (for example) the AWT event thread stack, then the default handler will print it out this way.

As a rule, you want to handle exceptions. It can be a fine strategy to use runtime exceptions to get around the fact that some superclass method doesn't declare any exceptions, but then you take responsibility for always catching those exceptions. If you can't -- i.e., if some other code is going to catch them instead -- then this is a bad strategy and you can't use it.

answered Apr 25, 2012 at 17:39

Ernest Friedman-Hill

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3 Comments

djechlin Over a year ago

overriding / suppressing printStackTrace was the thing to do here. I can accept this answer in 8 m inutes.

JeanValjean Over a year ago

@djechlin printStackTrace() is never called by default! If you catch an Exception at runtime you have to decide if the error has to be printed or not! Of course, the Exception could break your application or the Thread in which it is thrown,

djechlin Over a year ago

@jonny_cage I don't think this is true if it derives from RuntimeError. In any case, it was printed on an exception I handled, and I did not call it, and it did not print anything when I overrode it.

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