Logging errors with the same exception type

Question

I wrote some code which simply retrieves the HTTP status code of the passed in URL. There are multiple potential causes of the same error. I am hoping to get some all around feedback on this code, but my primary concern is that I have low readability in an attempt to provide good feedback in the event of an error.

private static final String HOST_NAME = "proxy.mycompany.com";
private static final int PORT = 5555;
private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory
        .getLogger("HttpStatusCode");

public static int getHttpStatusCode(URL url) {
    Proxy proxy = new Proxy(Proxy.Type.HTTP, new InetSocketAddress(
                  HOST_NAME, PORT));
    HttpURLConnection connection = null;
    try {
           connection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection(proxy);
    } catch (IOException e) {
           LOGGER.error("URL.openConnection(Proxy) failed in HttpStatusCode.getHttpStatusCode(URL)!");
           LOGGER.error("URL attempted: " + url);
    }
    int responseCode = -1;
    try {
           responseCode = connection.getResponseCode();
    } catch (IOException e) {
           LOGGER.error("HttpURLConnection.getResponseCode() failed in HttpStatusCode.getHttpStatusCode(URL)!");
           LOGGER.error("URL attempted: " + url);
    }
    connection.disconnect();
    return responseCode;
}

My original attempt was the following, but my co-worker advised that I change it to the former for better error handling:

private static final String HOST_NAME = "proxy.mycompany.com";
private static final int PORT = 5555;
private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory
        .getLogger("HttpStatusCode");

public static int getHttpStatusCode(URL url) {
    Proxy proxy = new Proxy(Proxy.Type.HTTP, new InetSocketAddress(
            HOST_NAME, PORT));
    try {
        HttpURLConnection connection = (HttpURLConnection) url
                .openConnection(proxy);
        int responseCode = connection.getResponseCode();
        connection.disconnect();
        return responseCode;
    }
    catch (IOException e) {
        LOGGER.error("IOException in HttpStatusCode.getHttpStatusCode(URL)!");
        LOGGER.error("URL attempted: " + url);
        return -1;
    }
}

Just to be clear, this code compiles and runs error free based on my testing. I am looking for a review on the way I am handling potential errors.

Answer 1

Your log output shouldn't also be detailing the code that failed, because the JVM is going to generate a more detailed stacktrace, and you should print that instead.

LOGGER.error("..." + url, e);

Instead, it will be more beneficial to give a more descriptive message. Borrowing your original code...

try {
       connection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection(proxy);
} catch (IOException e) {
       LOGGER.error("Unable to open a connection to " + proxy, e);
}
int responseCode = -1;
try {
       responseCode = connection.getResponseCode();
} catch (IOException e) {
       LOGGER.error("Could not get response code from " + proxy, e);
}