You are maintaining debugging code that tests exception handling in a .NET application. The following code is executed: try { Debug.WriteLine("Inside Try"); throw (new IOException()); } catch (IOException e) { Debug.WriteLine("IOException Caught"); } catch (Exception e) { Debug.WriteLine("Exception Caught"); } finally { Debug.WriteLine("Inside Finally"); } Debug.WriteLine("After End Try"); In which exact order will the Debug output lines appear?

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: Inside Try IOException Caught Inside Finally After End Try

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Understanding the flow of control in try, catch and finally blocks is essential when debugging .NET applications. This question presents a simple code snippet that throws an IOException and asks you to predict the exact sequence of Debug.WriteLine messages that will appear. Being able to mentally trace this sequence shows that you understand how exceptions are matched to catch blocks and how finally behaves.



Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The code is in C# style, using Debug.WriteLine for diagnostic output.
  • The try block writes "Inside Try" and then explicitly throws a new IOException.
  • There are two catch blocks: one for IOException and one for the more general Exception.
  • A finally block always writes "Inside Finally".
  • After the try/catch/finally statement, the code writes "After End Try".



Concept / Approach:
When an exception is thrown inside a try block, the runtime searches for the first catch block that can handle that specific exception type. An IOException is a specific type that matches the first catch in the example. Once the appropriate catch block executes, subsequent catch blocks are skipped. After catch processing, the finally block executes regardless of whether an exception was thrown or caught. When the entire try/catch/finally structure completes, execution continues with the next statement after it.



Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Execution enters the try block and writes "Inside Try" to the debug output. 2. The code throws new IOException(), which immediately stops the normal flow inside the try block. 3. The runtime looks for a matching catch block and finds the first catch (IOException e), which is an exact match. 4. The IOException catch block writes "IOException Caught" to the debug output. 5. Because the exception was already handled, the second catch (Exception e) is skipped entirely. 6. The finally block runs next and writes "Inside Finally". 7. After the finally block, execution continues with Debug.WriteLine("After End Try"), which writes "After End Try".



Verification / Alternative check:
You can quickly verify this by placing the code in a small console or Windows application and watching the Output window in Visual Studio. The lines will appear in the exact order: Inside Try, IOException Caught, Inside Finally, After End Try. You will never see the text "Exception Caught" because the more specific IOException catch already handled the exception.



Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A is impossible because a single exception cannot trigger both the IOException catch and the general Exception catch; only the first matching catch executes. Option B is wrong because the IOException is thrown and should be caught by the specific IOException handler, not by the general Exception handler. Option D omits the final "After End Try" output, but that line runs after the try/catch/finally completes, so it must appear.



Common Pitfalls:
One common mistake is to forget that catch blocks are evaluated from top to bottom, and that the first matching catch consumes the exception. Another pitfall is believing that the finally block runs only on errors, when in fact it runs in both success and failure scenarios. Developers also sometimes overlook statements after the try/catch/finally block, assuming that an exception prevents all subsequent code from running, even when the exception is handled locally. Carefully tracing the control flow helps avoid surprises during debugging.



Final Answer:
The debug output appears in this order: "Inside Try", then "IOException Caught", then "Inside Finally", and finally "After End Try".

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