python: How do I know what type of exception occurred?

Question

I have a function called by the main program:

try:
    someFunction()
except:
    print \"exception happened!\"

but in the middle of the ex

Answer 1

Your question is: "How can I see exactly what happened in the someFunction() that caused the exception to happen?"

It seems to me that you are not asking about how to handle unforeseen exceptions in production code (as many answers assumed), but how to find out what is causing a particular exception during development.

The easiest way is to use a debugger that can stop where the uncaught exception occurs, preferably not exiting, so that you can inspect the variables. For example, PyDev in the Eclipse open source IDE can do that. To enable that in Eclipse, open the Debug perspective, select Manage Python Exception Breakpoints in the Run menu, and check Suspend on uncaught exceptions.