Question

How does finally work in nested try/catch?
E.g. for:

try{  
//code

}  
catch(SomeException e){  
   //code  
   try{  
      //code  
   }  
   catch(OtherException e){  
     //code  
   }  
}  
catch(SomeOtherException e){    
  //code  
} 

Where is the best place to put finally? Or should I put it in nested and outer try as well?

Answer 1

If you want the code in the finally block to run no matter what happens in either block, put it on the outer try. If you only want it to run no matter what happens within the first try block, put it there:

try{  // try/catch #1
  //code block #1

}  
catch(SomeException e){  

   //code block #2

   try{  // try/catch #2
      //code block #3
   }  
   catch(OtherException e){  
     //code block #4
   }  
   finally {
     // This code runs no matter what happens with try/catch #2 (so
     // after code block #3 and/or #4, depending on whether there's
     // an exception). It does NOT run after code block #1 if that
     // block doesn't throw, does NOT run after code block #2 if
     // that block DOES throw), and does not run if code block #1
     // throws SomeOtherException (code block #5).
   }
}  
catch(SomeOtherException e){    
  //code block #5
} 
finally {
  // This code runs no matter what happens with EITHER
  // try/catch #1 or try/catch #2, no matter what happens
  // with any of the code blocks above, 1-5
}

More briefly:

try {
   // covered by "outer" finally
}
catch (Exception1 ex) {
   // covered by "outer" finally

   try {
     // Covered by both "inner" and "outer" finallys
   }
   catch (Exception2 ex) {
     // Covered by both "inner" and "outer" finallys
   }
   catch (Exception3 ex) {
     // Covered by both "inner" and "outer" finallys
   }
   finally { // "inner" finally
   }
}
catch (Exception4 ex) {
   // covered by "outer" finally
}
finally { // "outer" finally
}