Compile-Time Errors (Syntax Errors)

Don't pay any attention to the number of errors. Just read the first error message and work on
fixing that error. (Every now and then, the second error message will help you fix the first error.)

These errors are often caused by very small mistakes that are easy to miss, so there's no shame in
having someone else help you find the mistake.

Error Message What It Usually Means

The parser was surprised by a symbol you wrote at or just before
something expected
this point.
Make sure that file is saved in the same folder as the file that refers
cannot find symbol -- class
to it.
You got the method name wrong, or you called it on the wrong
cannot find symbol -- method
file/class.
class, interface, or enum expected You have too many closing braces.
class is public, should be declared in a
Your class name and file name must match exactly.
file named
illegal start of expression You're missing a closing brace for the previous method declaration.

illegal start of type You wrote a statement that does not appear inside a method body.
Make sure you understand why it found what it did, and why it
incompatible types -- expected type
expected what it did.
missing method body Your method declaration line has a semicolon.
The compiler found a pathway through your non-void method that
missing return statement
does not reach a return statement.
non-static method cannot be You called a method on a class name, instead of on a specific
referenced from a static context instance of that class.
possible loss of precision You assigned a double value to an int variable.
reached end of file while parsing You're missing a closing brace at the end of the file.
unexpected type -- required variable You used = instead of ==.
You wrote this statement after a return statement. Remember that
unreachable statement
return statements return from the method immediately.
variable might not have been The compiler found a pathway through your method where you
initialized access the value of a variable before you've assigned anything to it.
Run-Time Errors (Crashes)

Error Message What It Usually Means

My program freezes. You have a loop that never reaches its stopping condition.
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
You tried to access an array element with an index that was
too high or too low.
Look for every period (.) or open bracket ([) on the line of
code that caused the error. Something immediately to the
NullPointerException left of one of these periods/brackets must have been the
null value (instead of being the object or array you thought
you had).
OutOfMemoryError You are constructing new objects inside an infinite loop.
StackOverflowError
You have an infinite recursion. In other words, your method
calls itself, which then calls itself, without ever stopping.
StringIndexOutOfBoundsException
You tried to access a character in a String with an index
that was too high or too low.

How To Read A Run-Time Error

Suppose our program crashes with the following error message:

java.lang.RuntimeException: Attempt to move robot from (4, 2) to occupied
location (4, 3)
at Robot.move(Robot.java:80)
at Lesson.climbOneStair(Lesson.java:13)
at Lesson.climbAllStairs(Lesson.java:7)
Clearly, this error message is telling us that we told the robot to move into a wall (and it even tells
us where the robot and the wall are), but there's a lot more we can learn from reading the rest of the
message. Run-time error messages should be read from the bottom up. According to this error
message, we called the climbAllStairs method, which, on line 7 of Lesson.java, called the
climbOneStair method, which, on line 13 of Lesson.java, called the move method, which crashed
on line 80 of Robot.java, when the robot tried to move into a wall.

Now, we might guess that the bug is in move, since that's where the program crashed. But we
probably trust that the move method has been carefully tested, so we must have called move in an
inappropriate manner. Specifically, we must have violated the move method's precondition, by
calling move when the front of the robot was blocked. So, we back up to line 13 of Lesson.java,
where we called the move method. Now we need to step back and think. Was climbOneStair
correct in calling move? If not, we should fix the bug in climbOneStair But if climbOneStair
was correct, maybe we called climbOneStair when we shouldn't have, and the bug is in
climbAllStairs ...
Lesson: Common Problems (and Their Solutions)
Compiler Problems

Common Error Messages on Microsoft Windows Systems

'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program

or batch file

If you receive this error, Windows cannot find the compiler (javac).

Here's one way to tell Windows where to find javac. Suppose you installed the JDK in C:\
jdk1.8.0. At the prompt you would type the following command and press Enter:

C:\jdk1.8.0\bin\javac HelloWorldApp.java

If you choose this option, you'll have to precede your javac and java commands with C:\
jdk1.8.0\bin\ each time you compile or run a program. To avoid this extra typing, consult the
section Updating the PATH variable in the JDK 8 installation instructions.

Class names, 'HelloWorldApp', are only accepted if annotation processing is

explicitly requested

If you receive this error, you forgot to include the .java suffix when compiling the program.
Remember, the command is javac HelloWorldApp.java not javac HelloWorldApp.

Common Error Messages on UNIX Systems

javac: Command not found

If you receive this error, UNIX cannot find the compiler, javac.

Here's one way to tell UNIX where to find javac. Suppose you installed the JDK in
/usr/local/jdk1.8.0. At the prompt you would type the following command and press Return:

/usr/local/jdk1.8.0/javac HelloWorldApp.java

Note: If you choose this option, each time you compile or run a program, you'll have to precede
your javac and java commands with /usr/local/jdk1.8.0/. To avoid this extra typing, you
could add this information to your PATH variable. The steps for doing so will vary depending on
which shell you are currently running.

Class names, 'HelloWorldApp', are only accepted if annotation processing is

explicitly requested

If you receive this error, you forgot to include the .java suffix when compiling the program.
Remember, the command is javac HelloWorldApp.java not javac HelloWorldApp.

Syntax Errors (All Platforms)

If you mistype part of a program, the compiler may issue a syntax error. The message usually
displays the type of the error, the line number where the error was detected, the code on that line,
and the position of the error within the code. Here's an error caused by omitting a semicolon (;) at
the end of a statement:

testing.java:14: `;' expected.

System.out.println("Input has " + count + " chars.")
^
1 error

Sometimes the compiler can't guess your intent and prints a confusing error message or multiple
error messages if the error cascades over several lines. For example, the following code snippet
omits a semicolon (;) from the bold line:

while (System.in.read() != -1)

count++
System.out.println("Input has " + count + " chars.");

When processing this code, the compiler issues two error messages:

testing.java:13: Invalid type expression.

count++
^
testing.java:14: Invalid declaration.
System.out.println("Input has " + count + " chars.");
^
2 errors

The compiler issues two error messages because after it processes count++, the compiler's state
indicates that it's in the middle of an expression. Without the semicolon, the compiler has no way
of knowing that the statement is complete.

If you see any compiler errors, then your program did not successfully compile, and the compiler
did not create a .class file. Carefully verify the program, fix any errors that you detect, and try
again.

Semantic Errors

In addition to verifying that your program is syntactically correct, the compiler checks for other
basic correctness. For example, the compiler warns you each time you use a variable that has not
been initialized:

testing.java:13: Variable count may not have been initialized.

count++
^
testing.java:14: Variable count may not have been initialized.
System.out.println("Input has " + count + " chars.");
^
2 errors

Again, your program did not successfully compile, and the compiler did not create a .class file.
Fix the error and try again.
Runtime Problems

Error Messages on Microsoft Windows Systems

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: HelloWorldApp

If you receive this error, java cannot find your bytecode file, HelloWorldApp.class.

One of the places java tries to find your .class file is your current directory. So if your .class
file is in C:\java, you should change your current directory to that. To change your directory, type
the following command at the prompt and press Enter:

cd c:\java

The prompt should change to C:\java>. If you enter dir at the prompt, you should see your .java
and .class files. Now enter java HelloWorldApp again.

If you still have problems, you might have to change your CLASSPATH variable. To see if this is
necessary, try clobbering the classpath with the following command.

set CLASSPATH=

Now enter java HelloWorldApp again. If the program works now, you'll have to change your
CLASSPATH variable. To set this variable, consult the Updating the PATH variable section in the
JDK 8 installation instructions. The CLASSPATH variable is set in the same manner.

Could not find or load main class HelloWorldApp.class

A common mistake made by beginner programmers is to try and run the java launcher on the
.class file that was created by the compiler. For example, you'll get this error if you try to run
your program with java HelloWorldApp.class instead of java HelloWorldApp. Remember,
the argument is the name of the class that you want to use, not the filename.

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: main

The Java VM requires that the class you execute with it have a main method at which to begin
execution of your application. A Closer Look at the "Hello World!" Application discusses the main
method in detail.

Error Messages on UNIX Systems

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: HelloWorldApp

If you receive this error, java cannot find your bytecode file, HelloWorldApp.class.

One of the places java tries to find your bytecode file is your current directory. So, for example, if
your bytecode file is in /home/jdoe/java, you should change your current directory to that. To
change your directory, type the following command at the prompt and press Return:

cd /home/jdoe/java
If you enter pwd at the prompt, you should see /home/jdoe/java. If you enter ls at the prompt,
you should see your .java and .class files. Now enter java HelloWorldApp again.

If you still have problems, you might have to change your CLASSPATH environment variable. To
see if this is necessary, try clobbering the classpath with the following command.

unset CLASSPATH

Now enter java HelloWorldApp again. If the program works now, you'll have to change your
CLASSPATH variable in the same manner as the PATH variable above.

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: HelloWorldApp/class

A common mistake made by beginner programmers is to try and run the java launcher on the
.class file that was created by the compiler. For example, you'll get this error if you try to run
your program with java HelloWorldApp.class instead of java HelloWorldApp. Remember,
the argument is the name of the class that you want to use, not the filename.

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: main

The Java VM requires that the class you execute with it have a main method at which to begin
execution of your application. A Closer Look at the "Hello World!" Application discusses the main
method in detail.

Applet or Java Web Start Application Is Blocked

If you are running an application through a browser and get security warnings that say the
application is blocked, check the following items:

 Verify that the attributes in the JAR file manifest are set correctly for the environment in
which the application is running. The Permissions attribute is required. In a NetBeans
project, you can open the manifest file from the Files tab of the NetBeans IDE by
expanding the project folder and double-clicking manifest.mf.
 Verify that the application is signed by a valid certificate and that the certificate is located
in the Signer CA keystore.
 If you are running a local applet, set up a web server to use for testing. You can also add
your application to the exception site list, which is managed in the Security tab of the Java
Control Panel.
Errors V/s Exceptions In Java

Errors V/s Exceptions In Java

 Error : An Error “indicates serious problems that a reasonable application should not try to
catch.”
Both Errors and Exceptions are the subclasses of java.lang.Throwable class. Errors are the
conditions which cannot get recovered by any handling techniques. It surely cause
termination of the program abnormally. Errors belong to unchecked type and mostly occur
at runtime. Some of the examples of errors are Out of memory error or a System crash
error.

// Java program illustrating stack overflow error

// by doing infinite recursion

class StackOverflow {
public static void test(int i)
{
// No correct as base condition leads to
// non-stop recursion.
if (i == 0)
return;
else {
test(i++);
}
}
}
public class ErrorEg {

public static void main(String[] args)

{

// eg of StackOverflowError
StackOverflow.test(5);
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError
at StackOverflow.test(ErrorEg.java:7)
at StackOverflow.test(ErrorEg.java:7)
at StackOverflow.test(ErrorEg.java:7)
at StackOverflow.test(ErrorEg.java:7)
at StackOverflow.test(ErrorEg.java:7)
...

 Exceptions : An Exception “indicates conditions that a reasonable application might want

to catch.”
Exceptions are the conditions that occur at runtime and may cause the termination of
program. But they are recoverable using try, catch and throw keywords. Exceptions are
divided into two catagories : checked and unchecked exceptions. Checked exceptions like
 IOException known to the compiler at compile time while unchecked exceptions like
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundException known to the compiler at runtime. It is mostly caused by
the program written by the programmer.

// Java program illustrating exception thrown

// by AritmeticExcpetion class

public class ExceptionEg {

public static void main(String[] args)
{
int a = 5, b = 0;
// Attempting to divide by zero
try {
int c = a / b;
}
catch (ArithmeticException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}}}
Output:

java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero

at ExceptionEg.main(ExceptionEg.java:8)

Summary of Differences

Errors Exceptions
We can recover from exceptions by either using
Recovering from Error is not possible. try-catch block or throwing exceptions back to
caller.
Exceptions include both checked as well as
All errors in java are unchecked type.
unchecked type.
Errors are mostly caused by the
Program itself is responsible for causing
environment in which program is
exceptions.
running.
All exceptions occurs at runtime but checked
Errors occur at runtime and not known
exceptions are known to compiler while
to the compiler.
unchecked are not.
They are defined in java.lang.Error
They are defined in java.lang.Exception package
package.
Examples :
Checked Exceptions : SQLException,
Examples :
IOException
java.lang.StackOverflowError,
Unchecked Exceptions :
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundException,
NullPointerException, ArithmeticException.
Built-in Exceptions in Java with examples
Types of Exceptions in Java
Built-in exceptions are the exceptions which are available in Java libraries. These exceptions are
suitable to explain certain error situations. Below is the list of important built-in exceptions in
Java.
Examples of Built-in Exception:
1. Arithmetic exception : It is thrown when an exceptional condition has occurred in an
arithmetic operation.
// Java program to demonstrate
// ArithmeticException
class ArithmeticException_Demo {
public static void main(String args[])
{
try {
int a = 30, b = 0;
int c = a / b; // cannot divide by zero
System.out.println("Result = " + c);
}
catch (ArithmeticException e) {
System.out.println("Can't divide a number by 0");
}
}
}
Output:
Can't divide a number by 0
2. ArrayIndexOutOfBounds Exception : It is thrown to indicate that an array has been
accessed with an illegal index. The index is either negative or greater than or equal to the
size of the array.
// Java program to demonstrate
// ArrayIndexOutOfBoundException
class ArrayIndexOutOfBound_Demo {
public static void main(String args[])
{
try {
int a[] = new int[5];
a[6] = 9; // accessing 7th element in an array of
// size 5
}
catch (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
System.out.println("Array Index is Out Of Bounds");
}
}
}
Output:
Array Index is Out Of Bounds
3. ClassNotFoundException : This Exception is raised when we try to access a class whose
definition is not found.
// Java program to illustrate the
// concept of ClassNotFoundException
class Bishal {
 } class Geeks {

} class MyClass {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Object o = class.forName(args[0]).newInstance();
System.out.println("Class created for" + o.getClass().getName());
}
}
Output:
ClassNotFoundException

4. FileNotFoundException : This Exception is raised when a file is not accessible or does

not open.
// Java program to demonstrate
// FileNotFoundException

import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileReader;
class File_notFound_Demo {

public static void main(String args[])

{
try {

// Following file does not exist

File file = new File("E:// file.txt");

FileReader fr = new FileReader(file);

}
catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println("File does not exist");
}
}
}
Output:
File does not exist
5. IOException : It is thrown when an input-output operation failed or interrupted
// Java program to illustrate IOException
import java.io.*;
class Geeks {
public static void main(String args[])
{
FileInputStream f = null;
f = new FileInputStream("abc.txt");
int i;
while ((i = f.read()) != -1) {
System.out.print((char)i);
}
f.close();
 }
}
Output:
error: unreported exception IOException; must be caught or declared to be thrown
6. InterruptedException : It is thrown when a thread is waiting, sleeping, or doing some
processing, and it is interrupted.
// Java Program to illustrate
// InterruptedException
class Geeks {
public static void main(String args[])
{
Thread t = new Thread();
t.sleep(10000);
}
}
Output:
error: unreported exception InterruptedException; must be caught or declared to be thrown
7. NoSuchMethodException : t is thrown when accessing a method which is not found.
// Java Program to illustrate
// NoSuchMethodException
class Geeks {
public Geeks()
{
Class i;
try {
i = Class.forName("java.lang.String");
try {
Class[] p = new Class[5];
}
catch (SecurityException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

public static void main(String[] args)

{
new Geeks();
}
}
Output:
error: exception NoSuchMethodException is never thrown
in body of corresponding try statement
8. NullPointerException : This exception is raised when referring to the members of a null
object. Null represents nothing
 // Java program to demonstrate NullPointerException
class NullPointer_Demo {
public static void main(String args[])
{
try {
String a = null; // null value
System.out.println(a.charAt(0));
}
catch (NullPointerException e) {
System.out.println("NullPointerException..");
}
}
}
Output:
NullPointerException..
9. NumberFormatException : This exception is raised when a method could not convert a
string into a numeric format.
// Java program to demonstrate
// NumberFormatException
class NumberFormat_Demo {
public static void main(String args[])
{
try {
// "akki" is not a number
int num = Integer.parseInt("akki");

System.out.println(num);
}
catch (NumberFormatException e) {
System.out.println("Number format
exception");
}
}
}
Output:
Number format exception
10. StringIndexOutOfBoundsException : It is thrown by String class methods to indicate
that an index is either negative than the size of the string.
// Java program to demonstrate
// StringIndexOutOfBoundsException
class StringIndexOutOfBound_Demo {
public static void main(String args[])
{
try {
String a = "This is like chipping "; // length is 22
char c = a.charAt(24); // accessing 25th element
System.out.println(c);
}
catch (StringIndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
System.out.println("StringIndexOutOfBoundsException");
}
 }
}
Output:
StringIndexOutOfBoundsException
Some other important Exceptions
1. ClassCastException
// Java Program to illustrate
// ClassCastException
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String s = new String("Geeks");
Object o = (Object)s;
Object o1 = new Object();
String s1 = (String)o1;
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ClassCastException:
java.lang.Object cannot be cast to java.lang.String
2. StackOverflowError
// Java Program to illustrate
// StackOverflowError
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
m1();
}
public static void m1()
{
m2();
}
public static void m2()
{
m1();
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError
3. NoClassDefFoundError
// Java Program to illustrate
// NoClassDefFoundError
class Test //
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
System.out.println("HELLO
GEEKS");
}
}
Output:
Note: If the corresponding Test.class file is not found
during compilation then we will get Run-time Exception
saying Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError
4. ExceptionInInitializerError
Code 1:
// Java Program to illustrate
// ExceptionInInitializerError
class Test {
static int x = 10 / 0;
public static void main(String[] args)
{
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
Caused by: java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero
Code 2 :
// Java Program to illustrate
// ExceptionInInitializerError
class Test {
static
{
String s = null;
System.out.println(s.length());
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
Explanation : The above exception occurs whenever while executing static variable assignment
and static block if any Exception occurs.
5. IllegalArgumentException
// Java Program to illustrate
// IllegalArgumentException
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Thread t = new Thread();
Thread t1 = new Thread();
t.setPriority(7); // Correct
t1.setPriority(17); // Exception
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException
Explanation:The Exception occurs explicitly either by the programmer or by API developer to
indicate that a method has been invoked with Illegal Argument.
6. IllegalArgumentException
 // Java Program to illustrate
// IllegalStateException
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Thread t = new Thread();
t.start();
t.start();
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalThreadStateException
Explanation : The above exception rises explicitly either by programmer or by API developer to
indicate that a method has been invoked at wrong time.
7. AssertionError
// Java Program to illustrate
// AssertionError
class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// If x is not greater than or equal to 10
// then we will get the run-time exception
assert(x >= 10);
}
}
Output:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.AssertionError
Explanation : The above exception rises explicitly by the programmer or by API developer to
indicate that assert statement fails.