IDE forces to surround with try/catch and not throw the exception

Question

I understand the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions. Java compiler forces programmer to either surround the checked exception with a try/catch block or add a throw declaration in the method signature.

However sometimes I see that in Eclipse the compiler only gives me an option to surround the statement with a try/catch block and not throw it. Why is this so? Is this because in the inheritance hierarchy, the class (which contains code that potentially could produce an exception) is at the top?

As an example, I was writing a map function for a Hadopp mapper:

public void map(BytesWritable key, Text value, Context context) {
    String[] fields = value.toString().split("\t");
    String referrer = fields[10];
    context.write(new LongWritable(referrer.length()), new Text(
                    referrer));
}

It's a very simple map function, I am extracting a field from a row and emitting it's length as a key and itself as a value. Now, I get an error Unhandled exception type InterruptedException that Context.write() throws and Eclipse only gives me an option to surround it by a try/catch block and not throw it upwards in the hierarchy. Why is this so?

For a reference you can read the function signature of Context.write here.

Thanks.

Answer 1

throws is a part of method signature. If you are defining an abstract method, you must adhere to its signature. You can't add the throws while implementing it.