virhekäsittelijä

Virhekäsittelijä is a Finnish term that translates to "error handler" in English. In computing, an error handler is a piece of code designed to detect, report, and often correct errors that occur during program execution. When a program encounters an unexpected situation or condition that prevents it from continuing normally, the error handler is invoked.

The primary function of an error handler is to manage exceptions. Exceptions are events that disrupt the normal flow of a program's instructions. These can arise from various sources, such as invalid input, resource unavailability, network problems, or programming mistakes. Without proper error handling, such exceptions could cause a program to crash or behave unpredictably.

A robust error handler typically performs several actions. It first identifies that an error has occurred. Then, it might log the error details, providing information that can help developers diagnose the problem. Depending on the nature of the error and the program's design, the error handler might attempt to recover from the error, perhaps by retrying an operation or using default values. If recovery is not possible, it might terminate the program gracefully, informing the user about the issue. Effective error handling is crucial for creating stable, reliable, and user-friendly software.