handling exception in function with return value

Question

If I have a function something like:

def foo(.. ):
  try:
    #something
    return_value = "bleh"
   except Exception,e:
     logging.error("exception " +e)
   return return_value

Does the above look ok? I mean, if I got the exception then return_value is never initialized.

What's a good way to handle exceptions in a function that has some return value?

You could consider returning None, but that may have unintended consequences on the calling function. — GWW
– GWW, Commented Aug 28, 2014 at 22:44
@Fraz yup, you can reraise the exception after logging it by using plain raise. — alecxe
– alecxe, Commented Aug 28, 2014 at 22:45
@alecxe: Yeah i think thats a better way than to return None?? though I guess it depends on use case.. Thanks — frazman
– frazman, Commented Aug 28, 2014 at 22:50
It all depends on what the function is intended to do. Suppose I want to read a config file but return a default if its not there or is corrupted. I would suppress the specific exceptions and return the default. An error in a function is not necessarily and error for the caller. It all depends on the design of that function. — tdelaney
– tdelaney, Commented Aug 29, 2014 at 0:39

nisargjhaveri · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-28 22:46:43Z

2

You should return a False or something of that kind to tell the caller that some error has occurred. And then handle this return value in your caller, like if return is False do something else.

def foo(.. ):
    try:
        #something
        return_value = "bleh"
     except Exception,e:
        logging.error("exception " +e)
        return_value = False
     return return_value

answered Aug 28, 2014 at 22:46

nisargjhaveri

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