Avoiding IndentationError When Writing Empty Indented Blocks in Python

When writing Python code, it's not uncommon to encounter an "expected an indented block" error, particularly when dealing with try/except blocks. This error arises when you create an indented block but omit any subsequent statements within it.

However, there are scenarios where you may want to create an empty indented block to catch and discard exceptions without explicitly handling them. To achieve this, you can employ the "pass" statement.

The pass statement is a null operation in Python. When placed within an indented block, it acts as a placeholder, allowing the block to be properly recognized by the interpreter without executing any actual code.

Here's an example demonstrating how to use the "pass" statement to create an empty indented block:

try:
    # Perform operations here.
except:
    pass

In this example, the try block handles exceptions by executing the pass statement, effectively swallowing them and continuing execution. It's important to note that this method is generally considered poor practice and should be used with caution. Ideally, you should specify the types of exceptions to handle explicitly, as suggested by @swillden's amendment.

By employing the "pass" statement, you can create empty indented blocks and handle exceptions without cluttering your code with unnecessary statements. However, it's crucial to use this technique judiciously and prioritize exception handling specificity.