quick tips

Catch Smarter, Not Harder: C# Exception Handling Best Practice

Bharath Kumar J C

⚠️ Avoid Catching General Exceptions

Catching all exceptions with catch (Exception ex) might seem convenient, but it can hide real problems and make debugging harder.

Bad:

try
{
    // DB operation
    dbContext.SaveChanges();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: " + ex.Message);
}

Better

try
{
    // DB operation
    dbContext.SaveChanges();
}
catch (SqlException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Database error: " + ex.Message);
}

Why?
Catching specific exceptions like SqlException, FileNotFoundException, or ArgumentNullException helps you:

Handle errors accurately.

Avoid swallowing bugs unintentionally.

Keep exception handling clean and predictable.

Read more