Raising the Difference Between raise and raise e

Originally published on Medium under the Stackademic publication.

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When handling exceptions in Python, it's common to encounter scenarios where we need to re-raise an error. There are two primary ways to do this: raise and raise e. While they may seem similar at first glance, these two forms handle tracebacks differently, impacting how errors are logged and, ultimately, how debugging plays out. In this post, we'll break down the distinction between raise and raise e and discuss when to use each for clearer, more maintainable error handling.

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The Basics of Exception Handling

Before diving into the difference, let’s recap how exception handling works in Python. When an error occurs within a try block, the code jumps to the except block, where we can handle the error gracefully or re-raise it for further handling. Sometimes, it’s useful to catch an error, do something (like logging it), and then re-raise the exception to be handled by another part of the program.

try:
    result = 1 / 0  # Division by zero raises a ZeroDivisionError
except ZeroDivisionError as e:
    print("Caught an error!")
    raise  # Re-raises the original exception

In this case, the raise statement re-raises the original ZeroDivisionError, allowing the error to propagate up to higher-level error handlers.

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raise vs. raise e

Here’s the critical difference:

• raise: Re-raises the caught exception while preserving the original traceback.
• raise e: Re-raises the caught exception but resets the traceback to start from the line where raise e is called.

The distinction may seem minor, but it can significantly impact how tracebacks are displayed and how easy they are to interpret.

Example Code

Let’s illustrate this difference with a Python script:

import traceback

def raise_exception_with_raise():
    try:
        result = 1 / 0  # This will cause a ZeroDivisionError
    except ZeroDivisionError as e:
        print("Caught an error, re-raising with 'raise'...")
        raise  # Re-raises the original exception with its original traceback

def raise_exception_with_raise_e():
    try:
        result = 1 / 0  # This will cause a ZeroDivisionError
    except ZeroDivisionError as e:
        print("Caught an error, re-raising with 'raise e'...")
        raise e  # Raises the exception with a new traceback

print("======= Using 'raise': =======")
try:
    raise_exception_with_raise()
except ZeroDivisionError as e:
    print("Traceback using 'raise':")
    traceback.print_exc()  # Prints the original traceback

print("\n======= Using 'raise e': =======")
try:
    raise_exception_with_raise_e()
except ZeroDivisionError as e:
    print("Traceback using 'raise e':")
    traceback.print_exc()  # Prints the new traceback

In this example, both raise_exception_with_raise and raise_exception_with_raise_e attempt to divide by zero, catching the ZeroDivisionError in their except blocks. Let’s look at what happens with each approach.

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Output Analysis

Using raise:

======= Using 'raise': =======
Caught an error, re-raising with 'raise'...
Traceback using 'raise':
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "example.py", line 19, in <module>
    raise_exception_with_raise()
  File "example.py", line 5, in raise_exception_with_raise
    result = 1 / 0  # This will cause a ZeroDivisionError
ZeroDivisionError: division by zero

In this case, raise keeps the traceback simple and direct. It starts at the line where the original exception occurred (line 5 in raise_exception_with_raise) and goes up to where it was ultimately handled in the main program block. This full traceback preserves the original call stack, which makes tracking down the error straightforward.

Using raise e:

======= Using 'raise e': =======
Caught an error, re-raising with 'raise e'...
Traceback using 'raise e':
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "example.py", line 26, in <module>
    raise_exception_with_raise_e()
  File "example.py", line 15, in raise_exception_with_raise_e
    raise e  # Raises the exception with a new traceback
  File "example.py", line 12, in raise_exception_with_raise_e
    result = 1 / 0  # This will cause a ZeroDivisionError
ZeroDivisionError: division by zero

Here, raise e shows an extra layer in the traceback, starting with the line raise e was called on (line 15 in raise_exception_with_raise_e). This resets the traceback’s starting point to the raise e statement, potentially obscuring the original error location.

When to Use raise vs. raise e

1. Use raise for Simplicity and Clarity

In most cases, raise is preferable because it retains the original traceback, making it easy to see exactly where the error occurred. This is particularly helpful in larger applications where an error may need to propagate up several layers before it’s handled.

2. Use raise e Sparingly

There are rare cases where raise e might be useful, such as when you need to highlight a new context for an error. However, this approach can make debugging more challenging, as the original context is partially obscured by the new traceback.

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Conclusion

While both raise and raise e re-raise exceptions, they handle tracebacks differently. The direct raise statement is usually the best choice for preserving clarity in debugging, as it keeps the traceback as close to the original error as possible. In contrast, raise e resets the traceback to the current line, which can be helpful in specific contexts but generally makes the error’s origin harder to identify. Knowing when and how to use each one can make your error handling cleaner, more understandable, and, ultimately, more effective.

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References

• Python Errors and Exceptions
• Python Exception Handling: Patterns and Best Practices by Jerry Ng

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