Failed to catch syntax error python

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Answer 1

You can only catch SyntaxError if it's thrown out of an eval, exec, or import operation.

>>> try:
...    eval('x === x')
... except SyntaxError:
...    print "You cannot do that"
... 
You cannot do that

This is because, normally, the interpreter parses the entire file before executing any of it, so it detects the syntax error before the try statement is executed. If you use eval or its friends to cause more code to be parsed during the execution of the program, though, then you can catch it.

I'm pretty sure this is in the official manual somewhere, but I can't find it right now.