What is the purpose of exception handling in programming?

The purpose of exception handling in programming is fundamentally to allow a program to respond gracefully to errors. When a program runs, it may encounter unexpected situations or errors, such as dividing by zero, accessing invalid user input, or failing to connect to a database. Rather than terminating abruptly, exception handling mechanisms provide a way for the program to catch these errors and take appropriate actions, such as logging the error, prompting the user, or attempting a recovery process.

By implementing exception handling, developers can create more robust applications that maintain functionality even when faced with issue scenarios. This approach leads to improved user experiences, as programs can inform users about problems without crashing. Furthermore, it encourages better error management, making debugging easier and promoting cleaner, more maintainable code.

While other options touch on relevant ideas like error prevention and coding simplification, the core function of exception handling is centered on error management and response.