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javascript / intermediate
Snippet

Building Custom Error Class Hierarchies for Async Vue Handlers

Object-oriented error hierarchies inherit from JavaScript's native Error class. In asynchronous Vue actions, using instanceof checks on custom error subclasses lets you handle domain-specific exceptions, like form validation errors, distinctly from generic network failures.

snippet.js
javascript
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class AppError extends Error {
constructor(message, statusCode = 500) {
super(message);
this.name = this.constructor.name;
this.statusCode = statusCode;
}
}
class ValidationError extends AppError {
constructor(message, fields = {}) {
super(message, 422);
this.fields = fields;
}
}
export async function fetchUserData(userId, errorStateRef) {
try {
if (!userId) throw new ValidationError('User ID missing', { userId: 'Required' });
const res = await fetch(`/api/users/${userId}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new AppError('Server error', res.status);
return await res.json();
} catch (err) {
if (err instanceof ValidationError) {
errorStateRef.value = `Validation failed: ${JSON.stringify(err.fields)}`;
} else {
errorStateRef.value = 'An unexpected error occurred';
}
}
}
vue
Breakdown
1
class AppError extends Error {
Creates a base custom error class with status code metadata.
2
class ValidationError extends AppError {
Inherits from base error to carry specific field-level validation payloads.
3
if (!userId) throw new ValidationError('User ID missing', { userId: 'Required' });
Instantiates and throws the specialized subclass for invalid parameters.
4
if (err instanceof ValidationError) {
Uses polymorphic type checks to branch handling logic specifically for validation issues.