What is the difference between an error and an exception in programming?

In programming, an error and an exception are different concepts, although they are sometimes confused.

• Error usually refers to a problem related to an incorrect state of the program or environment, such as a syntax error, compilation error, or runtime error that cannot be handled (for example, out of memory).

• Exception is an event that occurs during program execution and can be caught and handled using a try-except construct (in Python). Exceptions are used to handle errors that can be anticipated and properly managed.

Example in Python:

try:
    result = 10 / 0
except ZeroDivisionError:
    print("Division by zero is not possible")

Here, division by zero raises a ZeroDivisionError exception, which we can handle. Errors, such as syntax errors, will prevent the program from running.