How to Write Trycatch in R

I want to write trycatch code to deal with error in downloading from the web.

url <- c(
    "",
    "")
y <- mapply(readLines, con=url)

These two statements run successfully. Below, I create a non-exist web address:

url <- c("xxxxx", "")

url[1] does not exist. How does one write a trycatch loop (function) so that:

  1. When the URL is wrong, the output will be: "web URL is wrong, can't get".
  2. When the URL is wrong, the code does not stop, but continues to download until the end of the list of URLs?

5 Answers

Well then: welcome to the R world ;-)

Here you go

Setting up the code

urls <- c(
    "",
    "",
    "xxxxx"
)
readUrl <- function(url) {
    out <- tryCatch(
        {
            # Just to highlight: if you want to use more than one 
            # R expression in the "try" part then you'll have to 
            # use curly brackets.
            # 'tryCatch()' will return the last evaluated expression 
            # in case the "try" part was completed successfully

            message("This is the 'try' part")

            readLines(con=url, warn=FALSE) 
            # The return value of `readLines()` is the actual value 
            # that will be returned in case there is no condition 
            # (e.g. warning or error). 
            # You don't need to state the return value via `return()` as code 
            # in the "try" part is not wrapped inside a function (unlike that
            # for the condition handlers for warnings and error below)
        },
        error=function(cond) {
            message(paste("URL does not seem to exist:", url))
            message("Here's the original error message:")
            message(cond)
            # Choose a return value in case of error
            return(NA)
        },
        warning=function(cond) {
            message(paste("URL caused a warning:", url))
            message("Here's the original warning message:")
            message(cond)
            # Choose a return value in case of warning
            return(NULL)
        },
        finally={
        # NOTE:
        # Here goes everything that should be executed at the end,
        # regardless of success or error.
        # If you want more than one expression to be executed, then you 
        # need to wrap them in curly brackets ({...}); otherwise you could
        # just have written 'finally=<expression>' 
            message(paste("Processed URL:", url))
            message("Some other message at the end")
        }
    )    
    return(out)
}
Elena Rostova

Elena Rostova

Lead Health, Wellness & Medical Journalist

Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.