ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Error handling

Imagine you are playing with building blocks. You are trying to build a tall tower, but sometimes the blocks just don't fit together properly. When that happens, you need to figure out what went wrong and fix it, so you can continue building.

In the world of computers, error handling is like this. When a computer program is running, sometimes things don't go as planned. This can be because of mistakes in the code, problems with the computer itself, or even because of unexpected things happening. These are like the blocks not fitting together.

When an error happens, the program needs to be able to deal with it. It needs to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it, so that the program can keep running properly. This is called error handling.

There are different ways to handle errors in computer programs. One way is to simply stop the program and show an error message to the user. This is like when you are building your tower and a block falls down, you might stop and say, "Oops! We made a mistake." This way, you know there is a problem and can try to fix it.

Another way to handle errors is to try different things to fix the problem automatically. This is like when you are building your tower and a block doesn't fit, you might try turning it around or using a different block to see if that works better. The program can do similar things, like trying a different way to calculate something or using a different piece of code that might work better.

Sometimes, errors can be really hard to predict or fix. In these cases, the program might need to ask for help. It can send a message to a computer expert or the person using the program, explaining what went wrong. This is like when you are building your tower and you just can't figure out why it's not working, so you ask someone who knows more about it for help.

Overall, error handling is like a way for computer programs to deal with problems that come up while they are running, just like how you handle problems when building with blocks. They try to figure out what went wrong and fix it, so that everything can keep running smoothly.
Related topics others have asked about: