Is there a difference between “throw” and “throw e

Question

There are some posts that asks what the difference between those two are already.
(why do I have to even mention this...)

But my question is different in a way that I am calling "throw ex" in another error god-like handling method.

public class Program {
    public static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            // something
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            HandleException(ex);
        }
    }

    private static void HandleException(Exception ex) {
        if (ex is ThreadAbortException) {
            // ignore then,
            return;
        }
        if (ex is ArgumentOutOfRangeException) { 
            // Log then,
            throw ex;
        }
        if (ex is InvalidOperationException) {
            // Show message then,
            throw ex;
        }
        // and so on.
    }
}

If try & catch were used in the Main, then I would use throw; to rethrow the error. But in the above simplied code, all exceptions go through HandleException

Does throw ex; has the same effect as calling throw when called inside HandleException?

Answer 1

Yes, there is a difference;

• throw ex resets the stack trace (so your errors would appear to originate from HandleException)

• throw doesn't - the original offender would be preserved.

  static void Main(string[] args)
  {
      try
      {
          Method2();
      }
      catch (Exception ex)
      {
          Console.Write(ex.StackTrace.ToString());
          Console.ReadKey();
      }
  }
  
  private static void Method2()
  {
      try
      {
          Method1();
      }
      catch (Exception ex)
      {
          //throw ex resets the stack trace Coming from Method 1 and propogates it to the caller(Main)
          throw ex;
      }
  }
  
  private static void Method1()
  {
      try
      {
          throw new Exception("Inside Method1");
      }
      catch (Exception)
      {
          throw;
      }
  }
  

Answer 2

When you do throw ex, that exception thrown becomes the "original" one. So all previous stack trace will not be there.

If you do throw, the exception just goes down the line and you'll get the full stack trace.

Answer 3

int a = 0;
try {
    int x = 4;
    int y ;
    try {
        y = x / a;
    } catch (Exception e) {
        Console.WriteLine("inner ex");
        //throw;   // Line 1
        //throw e;   // Line 2
        //throw new Exception("devide by 0");  // Line 3
    }
} catch (Exception ex) {
    Console.WriteLine(ex);
    throw ex;
}

1. if all Line 1 ,2 and 3 are commented - Output - inner ex

2. if all Line 2 and 3 are commented - Output - inner ex System.DevideByZeroException: {"Attempted to divide by zero."}---------

3. if all Line 1 and 2 are commented - Output - inner ex System.Exception: devide by 0 ----

4. if all Line 1 and 3 are commented - Output - inner ex System.DevideByZeroException: {"Attempted to divide by zero."}---------

and StackTrace will be reset in case of throw ex;

Answer 4

MSDN stands for:

Once an exception is thrown, part of the information it carries is the stack trace. The stack trace is a list of the method call hierarchy that starts with the method that throws the exception and ends with the method that catches the exception. If an exception is re-thrown by specifying the exception in the throw statement, the stack trace is restarted at the current method and the list of method calls between the original method that threw the exception and the current method is lost. To keep the original stack trace information with the exception, use the throw statement without specifying the exception.