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Meaningful error communication

quarkusio/quarkus
Based on 7 comments
Java

Error handling should be designed to provide clear, actionable information to developers while avoiding redundancy. Follow these practices: 1. **Don't duplicate error reporting** - If you're throwing an exception, don't also log the same error. This creates noise and confusion.

Error Handling Java

Reviewer Prompt

Error handling should be designed to provide clear, actionable information to developers while avoiding redundancy. Follow these practices:

  1. Don’t duplicate error reporting - If you’re throwing an exception, don’t also log the same error. This creates noise and confusion.
// BAD:
log.errorf("Error unzipping import file %s: %s", fileName, e.getMessage());
throw new IllegalStateException(String.format("Error unzipping import file %s: %s",
  fileName, e.getMessage()), e);

// GOOD:
throw new IllegalStateException(String.format("Error unzipping import file %s: %s",
  fileName, e.getMessage()), e);
  1. Provide actionable error messages - Include information about what went wrong and how to fix it.
// VAGUE:
throw new DeploymentException(String.format("Class %s has no fields.", className));

// BETTER:
throw new DeploymentException(String.format("Class %s has no fields. Parameters containers are only supported if they have at least one annotated field.", className));
  1. Handle unsupported operations gracefully - When a feature might not be supported by all implementations, use try-catch with informative messages:
try {
  options.setUseAlpn(sslOptions.isUseAlpn());
} catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
  log.warn("ALPN configuration not supported by implementation: %s. ALPN setting will be ignored."
    .formatted(options.getClass().getName()));
}
  1. Use exceptions for misconfigurations - Log warnings for non-critical issues, but throw exceptions for misconfigurations that would lead to incorrect behavior:
// NOT IDEAL:
if (hasBasic && hasApiKey) {
  LOG.warn("Multiple authentication methods configured. Defaulting to Basic Authentication.");
  return EsAuth.BASIC;
}

// BETTER:
if (hasBasic && hasApiKey) {
  throw new IllegalArgumentException("Multiple authentication methods configured. Please specify only one authentication method.");
}
  1. Design interfaces to prevent errors - Use language features like abstract methods when you expect implementations to provide functionality, rather than runtime exceptions.
7
Comments Analyzed
Java
Primary Language
Error Handling
Category

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