SCJP / exception handling

[M Mistroni]

hello all,
in doing a mock exam i came across this code

public class AQuestion
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
System.out.println("Before Try");
try
{
}
catch(Throwable t)
{
System.out.println("Inside Catch");
}
System.out.println("At the End");
}
}



1. Compiler error complaining about the catch block, where no Throwable object can ever be thrown.
2. Compiler error - Throwable Object can not be caught, only Exceptions must be caught.
3. No compiler error. The lines "Before Try" and "At the end" are printed on the screen.

i would have answered 1, but answer is 3. any reason of why compiler doe snot complain that exception will never be raised?
if i replace Throwable with java.io.IOException the compiler complaints...

any hints?

thanks and regards
marco

[gaurav singhal]

I am not very sure but to my understanding the reason here is that the throwable class have the subclass exception and error which can occur anytime and cannot be declared that why the compiler doesnot complain in the following code.

Somebody has to verify I am right or wrong

[IM Mahesh]

That is because java compiler checkes only for the catch blocks which are catching checked exceptions. If you are catching any of checked exceptions which is not thrown by the code in try block, compiler will give error. In this case Throwabe do not come under checked exceptions but IOException do. Hence option 3 is correct.