Failwith. Special operators, like failwith and invalidArg, are available in the F# language. These create exceptions that enter into an alternate control flow.
Understanding failure. In F# we do not have the same try, catch and throw syntax. Instead, we can use failwith to "throw" an exception.
First example. Here we introduce a function called validLength. This function returns true if the argument is 1 or 2, but uses failwith in all other cases.
Start We call validLength with an argument of 2. We get a result of "true" and use printfn to display this.
Next We use an argument of 200 and failwith is reached. This terminates the program with an unhandled exception.
// This function tests its argument.// ... If 1 or 2, it returns true.// Otherwise it uses a failwith command.
let validLength v =
match v with
| 1 | 2 -> true
| _ -> failwith "Length not valid"// This prints true.
let result1 = validLength 2
printfn "%A" result1
// This fails.
let result2 = validLength 200
printfn "%A" result2true
Unhandled Exception: System.Exception: Length not valid
at Microsoft.FSharp.Core.Operators.FailWith[T](String message)
at Program.validLength(Int32 v)...
at <StartupCode$ConsoleApplication3>.$Program.main@()...
Try, raise. Here we use the try and raise keywords. With try, we enter into a protected region of code—exceptions may be thrown, but we can recover.
Info The raise statement creates a NotImplementedException with a custom message. The try-block is stopped.
Note The with statement matches the NotImplementedException type. In response it prints a special message. The program does not terminate.
open System
try
// Raise a special exception.
raise (NotImplementedException "Not ready")
with
| :? NotImplementedException -> printfn "Not implemented, ignoring"Not implemented, ignoring
Finally. This block always runs. We can place some recovery logic in a finally block. If an exception is thrown, we will still enter the finally afterwards.
try
// An error occurs.
failwith "Not valid"
finally
// A finally block always runs, so we can try to recover.
printfn "Can recover here"Unhandled Exception: System.Exception: Not valid
at Microsoft.FSharp.Core.Operators.FailWith[T](String message)...
Can recover here
A review. Exception handling is powerful. With it we access a separate control flow, one that can trap and fix known problems. But some things we cannot recover from.
Dot Net Perls is a collection of tested code examples. Pages are continually updated to stay current, with code correctness a top priority.
Sam Allen is passionate about computer languages. In the past, his work has been recommended by Apple and Microsoft and he has studied computers at a selective university in the United States.