Java looping a method if it throws exception

Question

I have a method that if the array[x][y] cell is not empty, throws an exception: CellNotEmptyException.

I need to run that method, and if it throws the exception, i need to re-run it, until it will find an empty cell, and for a max of 5 times.
If it doesnt find an empty cell within 5 times, it has to clean the array, and then re-run!!

Is there a way? Thank you

Answer 1

// loop forever until TheMethod() succeeds

while (true)
{
    try
    {
        TheMethod();
        break;
    }

    catch (Exception e)
    {
    }
}

This might be an XY-problem situation, though. Iteratively calling a function until a cell is found doesn't sound like a great design to me. And throwing an exception is slow, so if this is a "normal" behavior of your program, consider some other mechanism than exceptions for finding an empty cell. Exceptions are for exceptional program conditions, not normal operation.