Error Handling
Anticipating, detecting and responding to things going wrong.
Backend Engineer track
Junior
Write correct code, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Guard ClauseReturning early on invalid cases to avoid deep nesting.
- Stack TraceThe chain of function calls that led to an error.
7 more junior concepts
- AssertionA check that crashes when an assumption turns out to be false.
- Custom ExceptionA domain-specific error type carrying meaningful context.
- Error HandlingAnticipating, detecting and responding to things going wrong.
- ExceptionAn object signalling an error that unwinds the call stack until caught.
- Swallowing ErrorsCatching an error and ignoring it, which hides bugs.
- Throwing / RaisingSignalling an error explicitly.
- try / catch / finallyCatching exceptions and running cleanup code regardless.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
- Checked vs Unchecked ExceptionsWhether the compiler forces you to handle an exception.
- Defensive ProgrammingWriting code that guards against invalid inputs and states.
- Error Values vs ExceptionsReturning errors as values vs throwing them.
- Fail FastStopping loudly on problems instead of continuing in a bad state.
- PanicAn unrecoverable error that aborts the program or thread.
Senior
Own a system, its failure modes, and its trade-offs.
- Graceful DegradationLosing non-critical features instead of failing completely.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across systems.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.
Data Engineer track
Junior
Build and fix pipelines from clear specs; write correct SQL.
- AssertionA check that crashes when an assumption turns out to be false.
- Custom ExceptionA domain-specific error type carrying meaningful context.
- Error HandlingAnticipating, detecting and responding to things going wrong.
- ExceptionAn object signalling an error that unwinds the call stack until caught.
- Guard ClauseReturning early on invalid cases to avoid deep nesting.
- Stack TraceThe chain of function calls that led to an error.
- Swallowing ErrorsCatching an error and ignoring it, which hides bugs.
- Throwing / RaisingSignalling an error explicitly.
- try / catch / finallyCatching exceptions and running cleanup code regardless.
Mid-level
Own pipelines and models end to end, including their quality.
- Checked vs Unchecked ExceptionsWhether the compiler forces you to handle an exception.
- Defensive ProgrammingWriting code that guards against invalid inputs and states.
- Error Values vs ExceptionsReturning errors as values vs throwing them.
- Fail FastStopping loudly on problems instead of continuing in a bad state.
- PanicAn unrecoverable error that aborts the program or thread.
Senior
Design the platform's storage, processing and modeling choices.
- Graceful DegradationLosing non-critical features instead of failing completely.
Staff
Shape how the whole organization produces and uses data.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set data strategy and architecture across the company.
Nothing here yet.
Frontend Engineer track
Junior
Build UI that works, ship small changes safely, ask good questions.
Core: start here
- Stack TraceThe chain of function calls that led to an error.
7 more junior concepts
- AssertionA check that crashes when an assumption turns out to be false.
- Error HandlingAnticipating, detecting and responding to things going wrong.
- ExceptionAn object signalling an error that unwinds the call stack until caught.
- Guard ClauseReturning early on invalid cases to avoid deep nesting.
- Swallowing ErrorsCatching an error and ignoring it, which hides bugs.
- Throwing / RaisingSignalling an error explicitly.
- try / catch / finallyCatching exceptions and running cleanup code regardless.
Mid-level
Own a feature end to end without hand-holding.
- Custom ExceptionA domain-specific error type carrying meaningful context.
- Defensive ProgrammingWriting code that guards against invalid inputs and states.
- Error BoundaryA UI component that catches rendering errors in its children.
- Error Values vs ExceptionsReturning errors as values vs throwing them.
- Fail FastStopping loudly on problems instead of continuing in a bad state.
- Graceful DegradationLosing non-critical features instead of failing completely.
Senior
Own an app's architecture, performance, and failure modes.
Nothing here yet.
Staff
Shape how many teams build, across apps.
Nothing here yet.
Principal
Set technical direction for the organization.
Nothing here yet.