The throw keyword

The throw statement allows you to create a custom error.

The throw statement is used together with an exception type. There are many exception types available in Java: ArithmeticException, FileNotFoundException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, SecurityException, etc:

Example

Throw an exception if age is below 18 (print "Access denied"). If age is 18 or older, print "Access granted":

public class Main {
  static void checkAge(int age) {
    if (age < 18) {
      throw new ArithmeticException("Access denied - You must be at least 18 years old.");
    }
    else {
      System.out.println("Access granted - You are old enough!");
    }
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    checkAge(15); // Set age to 15 (which is below 18...)
  }
}

The output will be:

If age was 20, you would not get an exception:

Example

checkAge(20);

The output will be:

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