This documentation is archived and is not being maintained.

Exception Constructor

Initializes a new instance of the Exception class.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

public:
Exception()

This constructor initializes the Message property of the new instance to a system-supplied message that describes the error and takes into account the current system culture.

All the derived classes should provide this default constructor. The following table shows the initial property values for an instance of Exception.

Property

Value

InnerException

A null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

Message

A system-supplied localized description.

The following code example derives an Exception that uses a predefined message. The code demonstrates the use of the parameterless constructor for the derived class and the base Exception class.


// Example for the Exception( ) constructor.
using namespace System;

namespace NDP_UE_CPP
{

   // Derive an exception with a predefined message.
   public ref class NotEvenException: public Exception
   {
   public:
      NotEvenException()
         : Exception( "The argument to a function requiring "
      "even input is not divisible by 2." )
      {}

   };


   // Half throws a base exception if the input is not even.
   int Half( int input )
   {
      if ( input % 2 != 0 )
            throw gcnew Exception;
      else
            return input / 2;
   }


   // Half2 throws a derived exception if the input is not even.
   int Half2( int input )
   {
      if ( input % 2 != 0 )
            throw gcnew NotEvenException;
      else
            return input / 2;
   }


   // CalcHalf calls Half and catches any thrown exceptions.
   void CalcHalf( int input )
   {
      try
      {
         int halfInput = Half( input );
         Console::WriteLine( "Half of {0} is {1}.", input, halfInput );
      }
      catch ( Exception^ ex ) 
      {
         Console::WriteLine( ex->ToString() );
      }

   }


   // CalcHalf2 calls Half2 and catches any thrown exceptions.
   void CalcHalf2( int input )
   {
      try
      {
         int halfInput = Half2( input );
         Console::WriteLine( "Half of {0} is {1}.", input, halfInput );
      }
      catch ( Exception^ ex ) 
      {
         Console::WriteLine( ex->ToString() );
      }

   }

}

int main()
{
   Console::WriteLine( "This example of the Exception( ) constructor "
   "generates the following output." );
   Console::WriteLine( "\nHere, an exception is thrown using the \n"
   "parameterless constructor of the base class.\n" );
   NDP_UE_CPP::CalcHalf( 12 );
   NDP_UE_CPP::CalcHalf( 15 );
   Console::WriteLine( "\nHere, an exception is thrown using the \n"
   "parameterless constructor of a derived class.\n" );
   NDP_UE_CPP::CalcHalf2( 24 );
   NDP_UE_CPP::CalcHalf2( 27 );
}

/*
This example of the Exception( ) constructor generates the following output.

Here, an exception is thrown using the
parameterless constructor of the base class.

Half of 12 is 6.
System.Exception: Exception of type System.Exception was thrown.
   at NDP_UE_CPP.Half(Int32 input)
   at NDP_UE_CPP.CalcHalf(Int32 input)

Here, an exception is thrown using the
parameterless constructor of a derived class.

Half of 24 is 12.
NDP_UE_CPP.NotEvenException: The argument to a function requiring even input is
 not divisible by 2.
   at NDP_UE_CPP.Half2(Int32 input)
   at NDP_UE_CPP.CalcHalf2(Int32 input)
*/


.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Portable Class Library

Supported in: Portable Class Library

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Show: