An exception is an event that interrupts the ordinary sequential processing of a program. When an exception is raised, Python will handle it immediately. Python does this by examining except clauses associated with try statements to locate a suite of statements that can process the exception. If there is no except clause to handle the exception, the program stops running, and a message is displayed on the standard error file.

An exception has two sides: the dynamic change to the sequence of execution and an object that contains information about the exceptional situation. The dynamic change is initiated by the raise statement, and can finish with the handlers that process the raised exception. If no handler matches the exception, the program's execution effectively stops at the point of the raise . In addition to the dynamic side of an exception, an object is created by the raise statement; this is used to carry any information associated with the exception.

Consequences. The use of exceptions has a two important consequences. First, we need to clarify where exceptions can be raised. Since various places in a program will raise exceptions, and these can be hidden deep within a function or class, their presence should be announced by specifying the possible exceptions in the docstring. Second, multiple parts of a program will have handlers to cope with various exceptions. These handlers should handle just the meaningful exceptions. Some exceptions (like RuntimeError or MemoryError) generally can't be handled within a program; when these exceptions are raised, the program is so badly broken that there is no real recovery.

Exceptions are a powerful tool for dealing with rare, atypical conditions. Exceptions should be considered as different from the expected or ordinary conditions that a program handles. For example, if a program accepts input from a person, exception processing is not appropriate for validating their inputs. There's nothing rare or uncommon about a person making mistakes while attempting to enter numbers or dates. On the other hand, an unexpected disconnection from a network service is a good candidate for an exception; this is a rare and atypical situation. Examples of good exceptions are those which are raised in response to problems with physical resources like files and networks.

Python has a large number of built-in exceptions, and a programmer can create new exceptions. Generally, it is better to create new exceptions rather than attempt to stretch or bend the meaning of existing exceptions.