How should a developer modify the code to ensure exceptions are handled gracefully?

Considering the following code snippet:

When the code executes, a DML exception is thrown.

How should a developer modify the code to ensure exceptions are handled gracefully?
A . Implement Change Data Capture,
B . Implement a try/catch block for the DML.
C . Implement the upsert DML statement.
D . Remove null items from the list of Accounts.

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

Understanding the Issue:

The provided code attempts to update a list of Account records:

public static void insertAccounts(List<Account> theseAccounts) { for(Account thisAccount : theseAccounts) {

if(thisAccount.website == null) {

thisAccount.website = ‘https://www.demo.com’;

}

}

update theseAccounts;

}

Problem: A DML exception is thrown when the update statement executes.

Possible Causes:

Some records in theseAccounts may have validation rule failures.

There may be null records within the theseAccounts list.

There could be fields that violate data integrity constraints.

Option Analysis:

Option A: Implement Change Data Capture

Change Data Capture (CDC) is used to capture changes to Salesforce records and send notifications.

Reference: Change Data Capture Developer Guide

Why Not Suitable: CDC is unrelated to handling exceptions in Apex code. It does not help in gracefully handling DML exceptions.

Option B: Implement a try/catch block for the DML

Wrapping the DML operation in a try/catch block allows the developer to handle any

exceptions that occur during the DML operation.

Modified Code:

public static void insertAccounts(List<Account> theseAccounts) { for(Account thisAccount : theseAccounts) {

if(thisAccount.website == null) {

thisAccount.website = ‘https://www.demo.com’;

}

}

try {

update theseAccounts;

} catch (DmlException e) {

// Handle exception, e.g., log error or process partial successes

System.debug(‘A DML exception occurred: ‘ + e.getMessage());

}

}

Reference: Apex Developer Guide – Exception Handling

Apex Developer Guide – DmlException Class

Why Suitable:

Graceful Handling: By catching the DmlException, the code can handle the error without abruptly terminating the execution.

Logging and Recovery: Allows the developer to log the exception details and potentially implement recovery logic.

Option C: Implement the upsert DML statement

upsert is used to insert or update records based on whether they already exist.

Reference: Apex Developer Guide – DML Statements

Why Not Suitable:

The issue is not about distinguishing between insert or update operations.

Using upsert does not inherently handle exceptions; DML exceptions can still occur.

It does not address handling exceptions gracefully.

Option D: Remove null items from the list of Accounts

Removing null items could prevent NullPointerException when iterating over the list.

Modified Code:

theseAccounts.removeAll(null);

Reference: Apex Developer Guide – List Class Methods

Why Partially Suitable:

If null records are causing issues, removing them can prevent exceptions.

However, the question specifies a DML exception, not a NullPointerException.

Removing null items does not handle other potential DML exceptions (e.g., validation rule failures).

Conclusion:

Best Solution: Option B is the most appropriate choice.

Wrapping the DML statement in a try/catch block ensures that any exceptions thrown during the DML operation are caught and can be handled gracefully.

This approach aligns with best practices for exception handling in Apex.

Additional Recommendation:

Using Database.update with allOrNone=false:

Database.SaveResult[] results = Database.update(theseAccounts, false); for (Database.SaveResult sr : results) {

if (!sr.isSuccess()) {

// Handle individual record failure

System.debug(‘Error updating record: ‘ + sr.getErrors()[0].getMessage());

}

}

Reference: Apex Developer Guide – Performing DML Operations

Benefit: Allows partial success processing, handling errors at the record level.