Improve docs for CoroutineExceptionHandler (#1886)

* Further clarifications and better style for exception handling
* Consistent terminology on "uncaught exceptions".
* Clarified special relations of exception handling with supervision.
* Clearer text in CoroutineExceptionHandler examples.
* Minor stylistic corrections.

Fixes #1746
Fixes #871

Co-Authored-By: EdwarDDay <[email protected]>

Author: elizarov

docs/exception-handling.md

@@ -52,11 +52,38 @@ public inline fun CoroutineExceptionHandler(crossinline handler: (CoroutineConte
     }
 
 /**
- * An optional element in the coroutine context to handle uncaught exceptions.
+ * An optional element in the coroutine context to handle **uncaught** exceptions.
  *
- * Normally, uncaught exceptions can only result from coroutines created using the [launch][CoroutineScope.launch] builder.
+ * Normally, uncaught exceptions can only result from _root_ coroutines created using the [launch][CoroutineScope.launch] builder.
+ * All _children_ coroutines (coroutines created in the context of another [Job]) delegate handling of their
+ * exceptions to their parent coroutine, which also delegates to the parent, and so on until the root,
+ * so the `CoroutineExceptionHandler` installed in their context is never used.
+ * Coroutines running with [SupervisorJob] do not propagate exceptions to their parent and are treated like root coroutines.
  * A coroutine that was created using [async][CoroutineScope.async] always catches all its exceptions and represents them
- * in the resulting [Deferred] object.
+ * in the resulting [Deferred] object, so it cannot result in uncaught exceptions.
+ *
+ * ### Handling coroutine exceptions
+ *
+ * `CoroutineExceptionHandler` is a last-resort mechanism for global "catch all" behavior.
+ * You cannot recover from the exception in the `CoroutineExceptionHandler`. The coroutine had already completed
+ * with the corresponding exception when the handler is called. Normally, the handler is used to
+ * log the exception, show some kind of error message, terminate, and/or restart the application.
+ *
+ * If you need to handle exception in a specific part of the code, it is recommended to use `try`/`catch` around
+ * the corresponding code inside your coroutine. This way you can prevent completion of the coroutine
+ * with the exception (exception is now _caught_), retry the operation, and/or take other arbitrary actions:
+ *
+ * ```
+ * scope.launch { // launch child coroutine in a scope
+ *     try {
+ *          // do something
+ *     } catch (e: Throwable) {
+ *          // handle exception
+ *     }
+ * }
+ * ```
+ *
+ * ### Implementation details
  *
  * By default, when no handler is installed, uncaught exception are handled in the following way:
  * * If exception is [CancellationException] then it is ignored
@@ -66,10 +93,7 @@ public inline fun CoroutineExceptionHandler(crossinline handler: (CoroutineConte
  *     * Otherwise, all instances of [CoroutineExceptionHandler] found via [ServiceLoader]
  *     * and current thread's [Thread.uncaughtExceptionHandler] are invoked.
  *
- * [CoroutineExceptionHandler] can be invoked from an arbitrary dispatcher used by coroutines in the current job hierarchy.
- * For example, if one has a `MainScope` and launches children of the scope in main and default dispatchers, then exception handler can
- * be invoked either in main or in default dispatcher thread regardless of
- * which particular dispatcher coroutine that has thrown an exception used.
+ * [CoroutineExceptionHandler] can be invoked from an arbitrary thread.
  */
 public interface CoroutineExceptionHandler : CoroutineContext.Element {
     /**

kotlinx-coroutines-core/common/src/CoroutineExceptionHandler.kt

@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@ package kotlinx.coroutines.guide.exampleExceptions01
 import kotlinx.coroutines.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
-    val job = GlobalScope.launch {
+    val job = GlobalScope.launch { // root coroutine with launch
         println("Throwing exception from launch")
         throw IndexOutOfBoundsException() // Will be printed to the console by Thread.defaultUncaughtExceptionHandler
     }
     job.join()
     println("Joined failed job")
-    val deferred = GlobalScope.async {
+    val deferred = GlobalScope.async { // root coroutine with async
         println("Throwing exception from async")
         throw ArithmeticException() // Nothing is printed, relying on user to call await
     }

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-exceptions-01.kt

@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
     val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception -> 
-        println("Caught $exception") 
+        println("CoroutineExceptionHandler got $exception") 
     }
-    val job = GlobalScope.launch(handler) {
+    val job = GlobalScope.launch(handler) { // root coroutine, running in GlobalScope
         throw AssertionError()
     }
-    val deferred = GlobalScope.async(handler) {
+    val deferred = GlobalScope.async(handler) { // also root, but async instead of launch
         throw ArithmeticException() // Nothing will be printed, relying on user to call deferred.await()
     }
     joinAll(job, deferred)

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-exceptions-02.kt

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
     val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception -> 
-        println("Caught $exception") 
+        println("CoroutineExceptionHandler got $exception") 
     }
     val job = GlobalScope.launch(handler) {
         launch { // the first child

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-exceptions-04.kt

@@ -12,19 +12,19 @@ import java.io.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
     val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception ->
-        println("Caught $exception with suppressed ${exception.suppressed.contentToString()}")
+        println("CoroutineExceptionHandler got $exception with suppressed ${exception.suppressed.contentToString()}")
     }
     val job = GlobalScope.launch(handler) {
         launch {
             try {
-                delay(Long.MAX_VALUE)
+                delay(Long.MAX_VALUE) // it gets cancelled when another sibling fails with IOException
             } finally {
-                throw ArithmeticException()
+                throw ArithmeticException() // the second exception
             }
         }
         launch {
             delay(100)
-            throw IOException()
+            throw IOException() // the first exception
         }
         delay(Long.MAX_VALUE)
     }

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-exceptions-05.kt

@@ -10,21 +10,21 @@ import java.io.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
     val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception ->
-        println("Caught original $exception")
+        println("CoroutineExceptionHandler got $exception")
     }
     val job = GlobalScope.launch(handler) {
-        val inner = launch {
+        val inner = launch { // all this stack of coroutines will get cancelled
             launch {
                 launch {
-                    throw IOException()
+                    throw IOException() // the original exception
                 }
             }
         }
         try {
             inner.join()
         } catch (e: CancellationException) {
             println("Rethrowing CancellationException with original cause")
-            throw e
+            throw e // cancellation exception is rethrown, yet the original IOException gets to the handler  
         }
     }
     job.join()

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-exceptions-06.kt

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.*
 
 fun main() = runBlocking {
     val handler = CoroutineExceptionHandler { _, exception -> 
-        println("Caught $exception") 
+        println("CoroutineExceptionHandler got $exception") 
     }
     supervisorScope {
         val child = launch(handler) {

kotlinx-coroutines-core/jvm/test/guide/example-supervision-03.kt

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ class ExceptionsGuideTest {
     @Test
     fun testExampleExceptions02() {
         test("ExampleExceptions02") { kotlinx.coroutines.guide.exampleExceptions02.main() }.verifyLines(
-            "Caught java.lang.AssertionError"
+            "CoroutineExceptionHandler got java.lang.AssertionError"
         )
     }
 
@@ -41,22 +41,22 @@ class ExceptionsGuideTest {
             "Second child throws an exception",
             "Children are cancelled, but exception is not handled until all children terminate",
             "The first child finished its non cancellable block",
-            "Caught java.lang.ArithmeticException"
+            "CoroutineExceptionHandler got java.lang.ArithmeticException"
         )
     }
 
     @Test
     fun testExampleExceptions05() {
         test("ExampleExceptions05") { kotlinx.coroutines.guide.exampleExceptions05.main() }.verifyLines(
-            "Caught java.io.IOException with suppressed [java.lang.ArithmeticException]"
+            "CoroutineExceptionHandler got java.io.IOException with suppressed [java.lang.ArithmeticException]"
         )
     }
 
     @Test
     fun testExampleExceptions06() {
         test("ExampleExceptions06") { kotlinx.coroutines.guide.exampleExceptions06.main() }.verifyLines(
             "Rethrowing CancellationException with original cause",
-            "Caught original java.io.IOException"
+            "CoroutineExceptionHandler got java.io.IOException"
         )
     }
 
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ class ExceptionsGuideTest {
         test("ExampleSupervision03") { kotlinx.coroutines.guide.exampleSupervision03.main() }.verifyLines(
             "Scope is completing",
             "Child throws an exception",
-            "Caught java.lang.AssertionError",
+            "CoroutineExceptionHandler got java.lang.AssertionError",
             "Scope is completed"
         )
     }