Code RoomOverly broad exception handling
MediumPrep Room Coding #4002

Overly broad exception handling

Vibe & agenticAlgorithms & data structuresMid–Senior~15 min

You asked an AI agent to add resilience to a Java method that parses an optional config integer, defaulting to 30 if missing or malformed. It produced:

It compiles and returns 30 when the key is absent. Why is this a maintenance landmine?

Implement
resolve_timeout_setting(config_pairs: list[str], key: str, default_seconds: int) → list[str]
Examples
in[["timeout=45","retries=3"],"timeout",30]out["45","ok"]
in[["retries=3"],"timeout",30]out["30","missing"]
in[["timeout=3O"],"timeout",30]out["30","malformed"]
What a strong answer looks like

Treat the AI’s output as a draft to verify, not an answer to trust. Name the specific flaw and the input that triggers it, say how you’d catch it (tests, edge cases, reading critically), and how you’d re-prompt or decompose to get it right.

0:00 of about 15 min

Vibe & agentic: describe the solution in plain language (or narrate it) and the coach grades your approach.

Which questions mattered is sealed until you submit. Telling you now would just be handing over the edge cases.