ThrowingExceptionsWithoutMessageOrCause.md

Pattern: Exception without message or cause

Issue: -

Description

Exceptions should always call one of the constructor overloads to provide a message or a cause. Exceptions should be meaningful and contain as much detail about the error case as possible. This will help to track down an underlying issue in a better way.

Example of incorrect code:

fun foo(bar: Int) {
    if (bar < 1) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException()
    }
    // ...
}

Example of correct code:

fun foo(bar: Int) {
    if (bar < 1) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("bar must be greater than zero")
    }
    // ...
}

Further Reading

• Detekt - ThrowingExceptionsWithoutMessageOrCause