Exception Classes in Java

Learn different exceptions available in Java, why they occur, and how to handle each of them effectively.

This reference explains Exception Classes in Java through its syntax, examples and boundaries. Use the linked course lessons when the surrounding Java concepts are unfamiliar.

Use this reference
Identify the documented behavior, read a complete example and check its inputs before applying it.

Java Exception Classes

AclNotFoundException: Thrown when an access control list (ACL) cannot be located, typically during permission checks in security management.
ActivationException: Indicates an issue occurred during the activation or registration of a remote object in Java RMI activation.
AlreadyBoundException: Thrown when trying to bind a name to a registry that's already bound to another object.
ApplicationException: Signals that a user-defined exception was thrown by a remote object in Java RMI or CORBA.
AWTException: Thrown when a problem occurs in the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), such as creating a robot instance.
BackingStoreException: Indicates a failure while accessing the backing store in the Preferences API.
BadAttributeValueExpException: Thrown when an invalid value is used in a JMX attribute evaluation expression.
BadBinaryOpValueExpException: Thrown if an invalid operation is performed on a JMX binary expression.
BadLocationException: Signals that a reference to a position in a document (like in Swing text models) is invalid.
BadStringOperationException: Thrown when a JMX string operation cannot be completed due to an invalid operation type.
BrokenBarrierException: Signals that a thread waiting at a barrier was interrupted or the barrier was broken.
CertificateException: Indicates a problem occurred with parsing or validating an X.509 certificate.
CloneNotSupportedException: Thrown to indicate that the clone() method has been called on an object that doesn’t implement Cloneable.
DataFormatException: Used by the java.util.zip package when compressed data is in an invalid format.
DatatypeConfigurationException: Thrown when a problem occurs during instantiation of a DatatypeFactory.
DestroyFailedException: Thrown when a security subject's credentials could not be destroyed.
ExecutionException: Thrown when attempting to retrieve the result of a task that aborted by throwing an exception.
ExpandVetoException: Used in Swing to veto a tree node expansion in a JTree component.
FontFormatException: Thrown when an input stream or file does not contain the expected font format.
GeneralSecurityException: A superclass for all security-related exceptions in Java's cryptography APIs.
GSSException: Thrown by the GSS-API when an error occurs during secure message exchanges.
IllegalClassFormatException: Indicates a class file format issue, usually raised by class file transformation tools or agents.
InterruptedException: Thrown when a thread is interrupted while waiting, sleeping, or otherwise occupied.
IntrospectionException: Signals an error while analyzing bean properties using the JavaBeans API.
InvalidApplicationException: Thrown when an invalid application object is used in Java RMI or CORBA contexts.
InvalidMidiDataException: Indicates that a MIDI data packet does not conform to expected format.
InvalidPreferencesFormatException: Thrown when a preferences XML input is malformed or invalid.
InvalidTargetObjectTypeException: Thrown when the target type of a dynamic MBean operation is incorrect.
IOException: Indicates a failure during input or output operations, such as file or stream access.
JAXBException: Signals problems encountered by the Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB).
JMException: A generic superclass for all JMX exceptions.
KeySelectorException: Thrown when a KeySelector fails to find or resolve a valid key for XML signature processing.
LambdaConversionException: Thrown when an error occurs converting a lambda expression to a functional interface.
LastOwnerException: Thrown when trying to remove the last owner from an access control list (ACL).
LineUnavailableException: Indicates that a requested audio line is unavailable due to hardware or system constraints.
MarshalException: Signals a failure to marshal or unmarshal data during remote method invocation.
MidiUnavailableException: Thrown when the requested MIDI device is not available or cannot be opened.
MimeTypeParseException: Thrown when a MIME type string cannot be parsed correctly.
NamingException: The root exception class for all naming and directory service errors in JNDI.
NoninvertibleTransformException: Thrown when a 2D affine transform cannot be inverted.
NotBoundException: Thrown when attempting to look up a name in a registry that is not currently bound.
NotOwnerException: Indicates that a caller is not the owner of the object and hence cannot perform restricted actions.
ParseException: Signals a failure while parsing text, typically in date or number formats.
ParserConfigurationException: Thrown when a parser cannot be configured to meet specified requirements.
PrinterException: Signals an error during printing tasks using the Java 2D printing API.
PrintException: Thrown when an error occurs in the Java Print Service API.
PrivilegedActionException: Wraps a checked exception thrown during a privileged action execution.
PropertyVetoException: Indicates a change to a property was vetoed by a listener.
ReflectiveOperationException: A superclass for exceptions thrown by reflection-based operations such as method calls and instantiations.
RefreshFailedException: Thrown when a security configuration refresh operation fails.
RemarshalException: Thrown to indicate the need to remarshal the parameters of a remote invocation.
RuntimeException: The superclass of all unchecked exceptions in Java. Indicates programming errors like logic issues or null pointers.

Using this reference

Check the example’s types, inputs and documented behavior before copying it into an application. Some APIs require external libraries, files or platform services; consult their setup notes.

Supporting documentation: Official Java learning guide.

Reference checks are optional and do not count toward course progress.

Reference library →

Exception Classes in Java