Wrong exception type for int()

What this problem practises

Exceptions are control flow. except clauses are matched top to bottom, finally runs even after a return, and catching too broadly hides the real bug behind a generic message.

This is a fix-the-bug problem: a short program is given in its broken state, and the task is to repair the code so it produces the required output. The interactive editor runs your fixed version in the browser and checks it for you — no setup, no local interpreter.

Difficulty: medium — expect to hold two interacting rules in your head at once, such as a boundary combined with a mutation.

The challenge

This program should print 42 but it still crashes. Fix the except clause so the crash is caught and it prints 42.

The code runs in PyDebug’s in-browser compiler. Open the problem, run the snippet, watch the exact error or output, and keep iterating until it is right. Signed-in solves count toward XP and your daily streak.

The snippet

The interactive editor pre-fills exactly this code, broken and ready to repair:

try:
    x = int('12a')
except ZeroDivisionError:
    x = 42
print(x)

More problems

• Wrong exception type caught medium
• Using = instead of == in a condition easy
• Calling a function before defining it easy

Keep going

• Python debugging guide — a systematic method for finding bugs like this one fast.
• Browse every exceptions problem in this topic.
• Common Python errors and what they actually mean, plus the Python glossary for any term used on this page.