exception handling in mvc ASP.NET MVC

In ASP.NET MVC, exception handling is an important aspect of writing robust and reliable web applications. Exception handling is the process of detecting and handling errors that occur during the execution of an application. In MVC, exceptions can occur in several places, such as in controllers, views, models, and filters.

There are several approaches for handling exceptions in ASP.NET MVC:

  1. Try-Catch:
    The most basic approach is to use try-catch blocks to catch exceptions at the point where they occur. This approach allows you to handle exceptions in a fine-grained manner and provide custom error messages for your users.

  2. Application_Error:
    The Application_Error method in the Global.asax.cs file is another approach for handling exceptions globally. This method is called whenever an unhandled exception occurs in the application. You can use this method to log the error, display a friendly error message, and redirect the user to a custom error page.

  3. HandleErrorAttribute:
    The HandleErrorAttribute is an attribute that can be applied to a controller or an action method to handle exceptions. This attribute catches any unhandled exceptions that occur during the execution of the controller or action method, logs the error, and redirects the user to a custom error page.

  4. Custom Filters:
    Custom filters can be created to handle exceptions in a more specific manner than the HandleErrorAttribute. You can create a custom filter that catches exceptions for a specific type of error or a specific controller, and provide custom error messages for your users.

When handling exceptions in ASP.NET MVC, it's important to provide useful error messages to your users, log the error information, and take appropriate actions to prevent the application from crashing or leaking sensitive information. Additionally, it's important to be aware of security concerns, such as preventing cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by properly encoding user input.