Ruby - code in else block executes even though Stripe exception WAS thrown

Question

Simplified version of my code:

1.upto(2) do |try|
  begin
    puts "Start"
  rescue => e
    if try == 2
      puts "Error - #{e}"
    end
  else
    puts "Success"
  end
end

My problem is that when I have an error, this is what happens:

Start
Start
Error - some message
Success

Really scratching my head here, because this is not what's supposed to happen... Any thoughts?

Update

OK I think I did myself a disservice by putting in the simplified version of the code, because that works, but the full version below, does not. I.e., when Stripe throws an API exception, the email is still triggering.

1.upto(2) do |try|
  Stripe.api_key = ENV['Stripe_Secret_Key']
  begin
    customer = Stripe::Customer.create(
      :source => params[:stripeToken],
      :email => @rentalrequest.email
    )
    @charge = Stripe::Charge.create(
      amount: (@rentalrequest.actual_amount * 100), # Stripe requires cents
      currency: "usd",
      customer: customer.id,
      description: "Payment from #{@rentalrequest.email} for gear rental"
    )
  rescue => e
    if try == 2
      logger.fatal "Stripe error: #{e.class}, #{e.message}"
      StripeErrorEmail.new.async.perform(e.class, e.message, @rentalrequest.id)
      render "rental_requests/new" and return
    end
  else
    RoadrunnerEmailAlert.new.async.perform(@rentalrequest.id)
  end
end

In other words, both StripeErrorEmail and RoadrunnerEmailAlert are firing

UPDATE for KM's answer

def error_handle(e, id)
  # Since it's a decline, Stripe::CardError will be caught
  body = e.json_body
  err  = body[:error]

  puts "Status is: #{e.http_status}"
  # => 400
  puts "Type is: #{err[:type]}"
  # => invalid_request_error
  puts "Code is: #{err[:code]}"
  # => nil
  puts "Param is: #{err[:param]}"
  # => nil
  puts "Message is: #{err[:message]}"
  # => You cannot use a Stripe token more than once

  logger.fatal "Stripe error: #{e.class}, #{e.message}"
  StripeErrorEmail.new.async.perform(e.class, e.message, id)
  render "rental_requests/new" and return
end

def charge
  @rentalrequest = RentalRequest.find(params[:rentalrequest_id])

  # Up to two tries
  1.upto(2) do |try|
    Stripe.api_key = ENV['Stripe_Secret_Key']
    begin
      customer = Stripe::Customer.create(
        :source => params[:stripeToken],
        :email => @rentalrequest.email
      )
      @charge = Stripe::Charge.create(
        amount: (@rentalrequest.actual_amount * 100), # Stripe requires cents
        currency: "usd",
        customer: customer.id,
        description: "Payment from #{@rentalrequest.email} for gear rental"
      )
    rescue Stripe::CardError => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end
    rescue Stripe::InvalidRequestError => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end
    rescue Stripe::AuthenticationError => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end
    rescue Stripe::APIConnectionError => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end
    rescue Stripe::StripeError => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end
    rescue => e
      if try == 2
        error_handle(e, @rentalrequest.id)
      end  
    else
      RoadrunnerEmailAlert.new.async.perform
    end
  end
end

Answer 1

Nope, the else block is not executed if there is an exception.

I have modified your code to raise an exception so that we can test it:

1.upto(2) do |try|  
  begin
    puts "Start"
    raise 'xxxx'
  rescue => e
    if try == 2
      puts "Error - #{e}"
    end
  else
    puts "Success"
  end
end

And this is the output:

Start
Start
Error - xxxx

which clearly depicts that the else block is not executed when there is an exception.

The else block is for when the block completes without an exception thrown. The another kind is ensure which is executed anyway whether the block completes successfully or not.

Update

Looking at your latest code, looks like it's a stripe issue. Try to handle stripe errors more gracefully like this:

begin
  customer = Stripe::Customer.create(
  :source => params[:stripeToken],
  :email => @rentalrequest.email
)

@charge = Stripe::Charge.create(
  amount: (@rentalrequest.actual_amount * 100), # Stripe requires cents
  currency: "usd",
  customer: customer.id,
  description: "Payment from #{@rentalrequest.email} for gear rental"
)
rescue Stripe::CardError => e
  # Since it's a decline, Stripe::CardError will be caught
  body = e.json_body
  err  = body[:error]

  puts "Status is: #{e.http_status}"
  puts "Type is: #{err[:type]}"
  puts "Code is: #{err[:code]}"
  # param is '' in this case
  puts "Param is: #{err[:param]}"
  puts "Message is: #{err[:message]}"
rescue Stripe::InvalidRequestError => e
  # Invalid parameters were supplied to Stripe's API
rescue Stripe::AuthenticationError => e
  # Authentication with Stripe's API failed
  # (maybe you changed API keys recently)
rescue Stripe::APIConnectionError => e
  # Network communication with Stripe failed
rescue Stripe::StripeError => e
  # Display a very generic error to the user, and maybe send
  # yourself an email
rescue => e
  # Something else happened, completely unrelated to Stripe
end

and see if that solves your problem.