Runtime errors come in different shapes and sizes, and they are notorious for interrupting your workflow. As such, here are some of the more common runtime errors, what causes them, and how to solve them if they arise.
What are Runtime Errors?
A runtime error occurs within a program while it’s currently running. Runtime errors are defined by how they happen after the program has been compiled, instead of during the program’s development. What’s frustrating about runtime errors is that they can cause the program to shut down unexpectedly, and it’s sometimes hard to pin down a singular cause.
The Different Types of Runtime Errors
Several different kinds of runtime errors can occur, so it’s a good idea to learn what they are and what causes them. That way, you’ll know exactly what to do when one rears its ugly head.
1. The Divide By Zero Error
Your computer does a lot of math while it’s processing data, and that means that errors can crop up when performing even simple arithmetic. For example, one common runtime error is called a “Divide By Zero” error. This one is pretty on the nose; it happens when your computer is doing calculations and tries to divide a number by 0.
When you try to divide a number by 0, you will wind up with an undefined number. When a computer does this, it doesn’t know what to do with the undefined number and causes the program to crash.
This is, unfortunately, not the type of error that you can solve on your side of things. If you identify a divide-by-zero error, the best thing to do is contact the software developer.
2. Errors Caused By an Incomplete Installation
Sometimes, things go wrong during the installation process. There are plenty of reasons why a program won’t install properly, and when this happens, it can lead to issues.
Sometimes, certain files aren’t installed, or the installation package is buggy. In any case, if the program isn’t installed properly, certain files that the program needs to run might not exist, leading to a runtime error. In that scenario, the best thing to do is to reinstall the program or try finding a different version of the installation package.
3. Logic Errors in the Software’s Programming
Regardless of how good a programmer is, there’s always the occasional error. A logic error is a type of runtime error that could point to a mistake in the coding.
Hot take: coding is sort of complicated. There are thousands upon thousands of characters that need to be typed correctly for a program to run properly. If there are any typos in the code, it can lead to unexpected outputs. Because of this, the program can be buggy or even crash altogether.
The best thing to do is to contact the software developer. You should also check if you are running the most up-to-date version of the software. A later version might have the problem ironed out.
4. Errors Caused by Memory Leaks
Another pretty common runtime error is a memory leakage error. When a program is running, it uses up some of the RAM. Then, when the program is terminated, it communicates to the system that it’s finished and releases that RAM so that other programs can use it. However, sometimes a program won’t do this, and programs keep using new RAM until it runs out.
Imagine an apartment complex with 10 apartments, eight of which are occupied. If three tenants leave without telling the apartment management about it, the office believes eight apartments are still occupied when only five are. Then when three more people want to move in, the office turns away one person on the assumption there’s no room for them.
A memory leakage can lead to RAM issues, sluggish performance, and program crashes. If this happens, a good solution is to restart the computer. This will clear out all of the RAM altogether.
5. The Non-Zero Exit Status Error
Software is composed of many lines of code. Every line needs to function properly to keep everything running smoothly. Unfortunately, there are times when a line doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, which leads to errors.
One such error is called a non-zero exit status error. For different coding systems, each line of code is given an exit status, which is a number that tells if it was run successfully or not. If the computer ran the line successfully, then it gets a 0 as an exit status. If it gets between 1 and 255, then it’s a failure. A good example is if you run a line that tries to access a file that doesn’t exist on the computer, it will likely get an exit code of 1.
6. The Overflow Error
There are always limits when it comes to coding. For example, when trying to put a number to a variable (a.k.a, a property), there’s a limit to how large that number can be. You get an overflow runtime error if you try to assign a larger number than that limit, which can cause the program to become unresponsive.
When you get an overflow error, you should start by checking if your software version is the latest one. If you’re running the latest version, try reinstalling the software.
7. The Segmentation Fault Error
Segmentation fault errors are the most common type of runtime error. There are certain rules that a program needs to follow when accessing and writing to memory. When some of these rules are broken, you run the risk of getting a segmentation fault error.
There are multiple ways that a segmentation fault error can happen. Some common causes are:
when a program tries to write to read-only memory when a program tries to access memory that it’s not allowed to access when a program tries to dereference freed memory or NULL pointers when a program tries to access more data than it’s allowed when a program tries to write a location that it’s not allowed to
If you run into one of these issues, Stack Overflow has an excellent list of solutions you can try, so be sure to give it a look.
A Lot of Runtime Errors in the Wild
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to runtime errors. The list goes on, as there are numerous errors and even more ways to cause them. The best thing to do is to study more runtime errors, how to identify them, and how to solve them; it can help prevent a lot of trouble.
