why constructor needs throws clause

[Amirtharaj Chinnaraj]

hi guys
iam trying to write a pice code that connectos to url and gets a response in xml its done purely using core java

but when i write the following pice of code my IDE is showing error

public class xml extends XMLReaderAdapter {

private HashMap rates = new HashMap();

public static final String RATE_TABLE_SOURCE = "http://www.ecb.int/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml";
public xml() // line 1 throws Exception
{

rates.put("EUR", new Double(1.00));
}



public static void main(String as[])
{
try
{
xml l= new xml();
l.parse(RATE_TABLE_SOURCE);

System.out.print("rates ");
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}


}
but when i remove the comment in the line 1 my coding compiles if not my IDE is showing me error in that line

my question is constructors are not members of class then why its asking to decalre throws class in the construstor like overriding methods require
looking for your methods
regards
amir
[ October 23, 2008: Message edited by: Amirtharaj Chinnaraj ]

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Apparently the superclass constructor (i.e., the no-argument constructor of class XMLReaderAdapter) declares that it throws some exception type. When a subclass object is constructed, the superclass constructor is always also called. Since there's no way for your subclass constructor to catch or cancel any exceptions thrown by the superclass constructor, the only remaining choice is to declare that the subclass constructor throws the same exception.

You can change your declaration to throw only the specific type thrown by XMLReaderAdapter, whatever that is.
[ October 23, 2008: Message edited by: Ernest Friedman-Hill ]

[Campbell Ritchie]

And please use the code tags.

[Rob Spoor]

XMLReaderAdapter's parameter-less constructor can throw a SAXException. Therefore, so can your constructor.

Normally you have the choice of throwing the exception further or catching it, but since the (implicit) call to super() must be the first statement in a method you can't catch it.

[Amirtharaj Chinnaraj]

thanks rob and Ernest
for your reply i have checked the API
for the class org.xml.sax.helpers.XMLReaderAdapter in the below link
i didnt find any throws clause specified in that

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/org/xml/sax/helpers/XMLReaderAdapter.html

please reply me why throws clause is not mentioned in the API section
looking for your replies

[Joanne Neal]

Which bit did you read ?

XMLReaderAdapter
public XMLReaderAdapter()
throws SAXException

Create a new adapter.

Use the "org.xml.sax.driver" property to locate the SAX2 driver to embed.

Throws:
SAXException - If the embedded driver cannot be instantiated or if the org.xml.sax.driver property is not specified.

[ October 23, 2008: Message edited by: Joanne Neal ]
[ October 23, 2008: Message edited by: Joanne Neal ]

[Amirtharaj Chinnaraj]

thank you guys for your advice and reply