Is it a bad idea to use printStackTrace() for caugt Exceptions?

Question

Is it a bad idea to use printStackTrace() in Android Exceptions like this?

} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Answer 1

Yes, it is a bad idea. You should instead use Android's built-in log class specifically designed for these purposes: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/util/Log.html

It gives you options to log debug messages, warnings, errors etc.

Logging errors with:

Log.e(TAG, "message", e) where the message can be an explanation of what was being attempted when the exception was thrown

or simply Log.e(TAG, e) if you do not wish to provide any message for context

You can then click on the log console at the bottom while running your code and easily search it using the TAG or log message type as a filter