errortrapping

noun

UK /ˈerəˌtræpɪŋ/

US /ˈerərˌtræpɪŋ/

A way to catch mistakes in a computer program before they cause trouble.

The programmer added error trapping so the game would not crash when a player typed a letter instead of a number.

SYNONYMS

error handling exception handling fault detection error catching

RELATED WORDS

debugging try-catch exception validation logging

OTHER MEANINGS

2. The process of detecting and responding to errors in a system so it can keep running safely.

Good error trapping kept the website online even when the database failed.

3. A programming technique that intercepts unusual conditions and routes them to special code.

She used error trapping to show a friendly message instead of a scary error code.

4. The act of setting up checks that stop a process when something goes wrong.

Error trapping in the payment system prevented double charges.