This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Network Topology
A developer runs the above AWS CLI command to invoke a Lambda function. The response shows StatusCode 200 but FunctionError is 'Unhandled'. What does this indicate?
Network Topology
A
The function timed out.
Why wrong: Timeout errors produce a specific FunctionError 'Unhandled' with a different message.
B
The payload was malformed and the function did not run.
Why wrong: If the payload were malformed, the invocation might still proceed; the error is from the code.
C
The function code threw an unhandled exception.
'Unhandled' indicates an uncaught exception in the code.
D
The function lacks execution permissions.
Why wrong: Permission errors return a 403 status code.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The function code threw an unhandled exception.
When a Lambda function returns a StatusCode 200 with 'FunctionError: Unhandled', it means the Lambda service successfully received and invoked the function (hence the 200 status), but the function's code threw an exception that was not caught by any try-catch block. This indicates an unhandled runtime error within the function code, not an infrastructure or permissions issue.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The function timed out.
Why it's wrong here
Timeout errors produce a specific FunctionError 'Unhandled' with a different message.
✗
The payload was malformed and the function did not run.
Why it's wrong here
If the payload were malformed, the invocation might still proceed; the error is from the code.
✓
The function code threw an unhandled exception.
Why this is correct
'Unhandled' indicates an uncaught exception in the code.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The function lacks execution permissions.
Why it's wrong here
Permission errors return a 403 status code.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse a 200 status code with a successful execution, not realizing that Lambda returns 200 for any invocation that reaches the function code, even if the code fails with an unhandled exception.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the Lambda runtime environment wraps the function handler in a try-catch for certain errors (like timeouts and out-of-memory), which are reported as 'Handled' errors. An 'Unhandled' error occurs when the function code throws an exception that propagates beyond the handler without being caught, causing the runtime to return the error to the invoker. In real-world scenarios, this often happens when a developer forgets to wrap asynchronous operations in try-catch blocks or when a third-party library throws an unexpected exception.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
Model
You Manage
Provider Manages
Examples
IaaS
OS, runtime, apps, data
Hardware, hypervisor, networking
EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine
PaaS
Apps and data
OS, runtime, middleware, hardware
Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service
SaaS
Data and settings only
Everything else
Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday
FaaS / Serverless
Function code only
Infra, scaling, runtime
Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run
CaaS
Containers and apps
Kubernetes, OS, hardware
EKS, AKS, GKE
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The function code threw an unhandled exception. — When a Lambda function returns a StatusCode 200 with 'FunctionError: Unhandled', it means the Lambda service successfully received and invoked the function (hence the 200 status), but the function's code threw an exception that was not caught by any try-catch block. This indicates an unhandled runtime error within the function code, not an infrastructure or permissions issue.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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