try-catch blocks with the return type

Question

If I have a method that returns something, like

public DataTable ReturnSomething()
{
   try
   {  
      //logic here
     return ds.Tables[0];
   }
   catch (Ex         


        

Answer 1

You should wrap the caller with a try catch... any exceptions that happen in the routine that is called will bubble out to the caller and you can catch them there.

Personally, I think it is overkill to have a try catch in this routine as you should have the caller handling the exception.

For my example, this would be coded as follows...

private void DoSomething() {
    try {
        DataTable dt = ReturnSomething();
    }
    catch (Exception ex) {
    }    
}

public DataTable ReturnSomething() {
    DataTable dt = new DataTable();

    // logic here
    return dt;
}

Answer 2

You can do it like the sample code below.

public DataTable ReturnSomething(out string OutputDesc)
{
   try
      {
         //logic here
         OutputDesc = string.Format("Your Successful Message Here...");
         return ds.Tables[0];
      }
      catch (Exception e)
      {
         OutputDesc =e.Message;
         return null;
      }

}

Answer 3

Store your return value in a temporary variable like this:

public DataTable ReturnSomething()
{
    DataTable returnValue = null;

    try
    {
        //logic here
        returnValue = ds.Tables[0]; 
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        ErrorString=e.Message;
    }

    return returnValue;
}

Answer 4

i'd assume you can still set the message, then return null or whatever the c# equivalent is

public DataTable ReturnSomething(){ 
   try {
        //logic here 
        return ds.Tables[0]; 
   } catch (Exception e) {
        ErrorString=e.Message;
        return null;
   }
}

Answer 5

You should raise/throw the exception in your catch block and handle it in the calling method.

public void invokeFaultyCode()
{
    try
    {
        DataTable dt = ReturnSomething();
    }
    catch(Exception e)
    {
        // Print the error message, cleanup, whatever
    }    
}
public DataTable ReturnSomething() throws Exception
{
   try
   {  
      //logic here
     return ds.Tables[0];
   }
   catch (Exception e)
   {
      ErrorString=e.Message;
      throw;
   }
}

PS: Sorry for any syntax error, I'm a bit rusty on C#.