Java 7: Multi-catch

You can now catch more than one exception in a single catch clause which removes redundant code.

Here is an example of a statement which throws multiple exceptions:

try {
    Class.forName("Object").newInstance();
} catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
} catch (InstantiationException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

In JDK7, you can collapse the catch blocks into a single one:

try {
    Class.forName("Object").newInstance();
} catch (ClassNotFoundException |
         InstantiationException |
         IllegalAccessException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Eclipse Support:

• If you have multiple catch clauses, quick fix gives you the option to Combine catch blocks provided all the catch bodies are the same


• Conversely, if you have a multi-catch clause, quick fix gives you the option to Use separate catch blocks so that you can handle each exception separately


• Quick fix gives you the option to Move exception to separate catch block which allows you to take exceptions out of the multi-catch in case you want to handle them separately


• Quick fix also gives you the option to Surround with try/multi-catch

Further Reading
Handling More Than One Type of Exception