This PCAP practice question tests your understanding of exceptions and file i/o. 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.
A Python script processes a log file line by line. If a line cannot be decoded due to an encoding error, the script should skip the line and continue. Which exception handling approach is best?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Inside the loop, wrap the line decoding in a try-except UnicodeDecodeError block and continue.
Option C is correct because it places the try-except block inside the loop, specifically catching `UnicodeDecodeError` for each line. This allows the script to skip only the problematic line and continue processing subsequent lines, which matches the requirement exactly.
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.
✗
Wrap the entire file reading in a try-except block without specifying exception type.
Why it's wrong here
Bare except hides all errors, including programming mistakes.
✗
Use a try-except-else block to handle success and failure separately, exiting on failure.
Why it's wrong here
Exiting on failure is not desired.
✓
Inside the loop, wrap the line decoding in a try-except UnicodeDecodeError block and continue.
Why this is correct
This isolates decoding issues and continues processing.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Catch Exception in the outer loop and break on error.
Why it's wrong here
Catching Exception is broad and causing loop exit.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Python Institute often tests the distinction between catching exceptions at the loop level versus the file level, and the trap here is that candidates choose a broad catch-all or an outer try-except that stops the loop, missing the requirement to skip only the problematic line and continue.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When reading a file in text mode, Python decodes bytes using the specified encoding (default UTF-8). A `UnicodeDecodeError` occurs when a byte sequence is invalid for that encoding. By catching only this specific exception inside the loop, the script can call `continue` to skip the offending line, while other unexpected exceptions (e.g., `IOError`) remain uncaught and can be handled appropriately. This pattern is common in log processing where malformed lines are expected but should not halt the entire pipeline.
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 cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
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.
Exceptions and File I/O — This question tests Exceptions and File I/O — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Inside the loop, wrap the line decoding in a try-except UnicodeDecodeError block and continue. — Option C is correct because it places the try-except block inside the loop, specifically catching `UnicodeDecodeError` for each line. This allows the script to skip only the problematic line and continue processing subsequent lines, which matches the requirement exactly.
What should I do if I get this PCAP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This PCAP practice question is part of Courseiva's free Python Institute certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCAP exam.
Question Discussion
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