5 Key Tips for Better Error Handling in Your System
Error handling is beyond try-catch block
Error handling is a critical aspect of software engineering, yet many engineers—especially those early in their careers—often don’t grasp its full scope.
When I was a junior engineer, I used to think that error handling was simply about placing try-catch blocks in the right spots. I believed I had it figured out. But as I grew in experience, I quickly realized that true error handling goes far beyond just catching exceptions.
In this article, I’ll dive deeper into what error handling really entails.
But first…
The 6 Key Considerations for Handling Errors:
When handling errors, it’s not just about stopping the problem—it’s also about ensuring the system remains functional, giving the user a smooth experience, and collecting valuable insights for debugging.
1. Input Validation:
• Validating user input is crucial, especially on the front end. This prevents invalid data from even reaching the backend, minimizing potential system errors. Libraris Use libraries like Joi or Yup for validation in JavaScript/Node.js, ensuring that you cover all edge cases(This usually requires that you think).
2. Error Categorization:
• Operational Errors: These are expected issues like a failed database connection, timeout, or invalid user input.
• Programmer Errors: Mistakes in the code such as null references, undefined variables, or logical flaws.
Handling: Operational errors should be gracefully handled (logging them, retrying if necessary), while programmer errors should trigger more aggressive fixes (alerts, debugging).
3. Error Logging:
• Proper logging involves capturing enough information to understand what happened, without cluttering logs. Log the error context (what caused it) and a stack trace for debugging.
• Tools like Winston for Node.js or Log4j for Java, coupled with external services like Sentry or Loggly, can help track and alert errors efficiently.
4. User Feedback:
This is very important!!!
• Avoid showing technical details to users (like stack traces); instead, provide user-friendly messages like “Something went wrong, please try again.”
• For example: For validation errors, show specific feedback like “Email is required” or “Password must be at least 8 characters.” instead of crashing the application or directly displaying technical errors to the user: this is not a good user experience
5. Graceful Degradation:
• In case of a serious error, instead of the application crashing, handle it gracefully. For instance, return a fallback response or reroute the user to an error page while logging the issue for further review.
6. Error Reporting:
• Use error monitoring tools to report issues in real-time. Tools like Sentry can capture the exact point of failure, allowing you to act on critical errors as soon as they happen.
Applying these principles when handling errors has helped me build a more robust system. It will also help you. No doubt.
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