Programmer's Guide to Java™ Certification, A: A Comprehensive Primer, Second Edition

5.6. Exception Types

Exceptions in Java are objects. All exceptions are derived from the java.lang. Throwable class. Figure 5.8 shows a partial hierarchy of classes derived from the Throwable class. The two main subclasses Exception and Error constitute the main categories of throwables, the term used to refer to both exceptions and errors. Figure 5.8 also shows that not all exception classes are found in the same package.

Figure 5.8. Partial Exception Inheritance Hierarchy

The Throwable class provides a String variable that can be set by the subclasses to provide a detail message. The purpose of the detail message is to provide more information ...