The difference between re-throwing parameter-less catch and not doing anything?

Question

Suppose I have the following two classes in two different assemblies:

//in assembly A
public class TypeA {
   // Constructor omitted
   public void MethodA
   {
     try {
       //do something
     }
     catch {
        throw;
     }
   }
}
//in assembly B
public class TypeB {
   public void MethodB
   {
     try {
       TypeA a = new TypeA();
       a.MethodA();
     }
     catch (Exception e)
       //Handle exception
     }
   }
}

In this case, the try-catch in MethodA just elevates the exception but doesn't really handle it. Is there any advantage in using try-catch at all in MethodA? In other words, is there a difference between this kind of try-catch block and not using one at all?

Answer 1

In your example, there is no advantage to this. But there are cases where it is desirable to just bubble up a specific exception.

    public void Foo()
    {
        try
        {
            // Some service adapter code

            // A call to the service
        }
        catch (ServiceBoundaryException)
        {
            throw;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            throw new AdapterBoundaryException("some message", ex);
        }
    }

This allows you to easily identify which boundary an exception occurred in. In this case, you would need to ensure your boundary exceptions are only thrown for code specific to the boundary.