Error Handling and Exception Logging:

Error handling and exception logging are crucial aspects of building robust and reliable applications in .NET Core. Properly handling errors and logging exceptions helps in identifying and diagnosing issues, as well as providing a better user experience. Here’s an overview of error handling and exception logging in a .NET Core project:

1. Try-Catch Blocks:

• Use try-catch blocks to handle exceptions and gracefully recover from errors.
• Surround code that may throw an exception with a try block, and catch specific exceptions or general exceptions (Exception) in the catch block.
• In the catch block, you can log the exception details, perform error-specific actions, or provide user-friendly error messages.

try

{

    // Code that may throw an exception

}

catch (Exception ex)

{

    // Log exception details

    logger.LogError(ex, “An error occurred”);

    // Perform error-specific actions or display user-friendly error messages

}

1. Global Exception Handling:

• In addition to local try-catch blocks, you can implement global exception handling to handle unhandled exceptions that occur throughout your application.
• Register an exception handling middleware in your application’s pipeline to catch and process unhandled exceptions.
• In the middleware, you can log the exception details, perform error-specific actions, and return appropriate HTTP responses or error pages.

1. Logging Exceptions:

• Logging exceptions helps in understanding the cause of errors and diagnosing issues.
• Use a logging framework, such as Microsoft.Extensions.Logging, to log exception details.
• Log the exception message, stack trace, and any additional relevant information that can help in troubleshooting.
• You can log exceptions at different log levels based on their severity.

try

{

    // Code that may throw an exception

}

catch (Exception ex)

{

    logger.LogError(ex, “An error occurred”);

}

1. Structured Logging of Exceptions:

• Consider using structured logging to log exceptions with additional structured data.
• Include relevant context information, such as user ID, request ID, or the current state of the application, along with the exception details.
• Structured logging facilitates better analysis and filtering of logged exceptions.

try

{

    // Code that may throw an exception

}

catch (Exception ex)

{

    logger.LogError(ex, “An error occurred: {ErrorMessage}. User ID: {UserId}”, ex.Message, userId);

}

1. Custom Exception Handling Middleware:

• Implement a custom exception handling middleware to handle and process exceptions based on your application’s specific requirements.
• The middleware can log exceptions, perform error-specific actions, and return appropriate responses.
• Configure the custom exception handling middleware in the application’s pipeline.

1. Error Response Objects:

• Consider creating custom error response objects to provide structured and consistent error responses to clients.
• These objects can include error codes, error messages, and additional information about the error.
• Return error response objects from your exception handling middleware or error-specific actions.

1. Error Logging and Monitoring Tools:

• Consider integrating with error logging and monitoring tools, such as Application Insights, ELK Stack, or third-party services like Sentry or Raygun.
• These tools provide centralized error logging, exception aggregation, and real-time monitoring of application errors.
• Configure the tools with appropriate logging frameworks and capture exceptions and error information for analysis.

Proper error handling and exception logging contribute to the stability and reliability of your application. Handle exceptions at appropriate levels, log exception details for analysis, and consider integrating with error logging and monitoring tools for effective error management.