I’m working on a Java project where I need to convert a String input to an integer. However, I want to ensure that any potential exceptions are properly handled to avoid runtime errors and unexpected crashes. Specifically, I am concerned about handling cases where the input String is not a valid integer format.

Here is the code,

public class StringToIntExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String numberString = "12345";  // Try changing this to a non-numeric string to test the exception handling

        // Method 1: Using Integer.parseInt() with exception handling
        try {
            int number1 = Integer.parseInt(numberString);
            System.out.println("Using Integer.parseInt: " + number1);
        } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
            System.err.println("Invalid number format for Integer.parseInt: " + e.getMessage());
        }

        // Method 2: Using Integer.valueOf() with exception handling
        try {
            int number2 = Integer.valueOf(numberString);
            System.out.println("Using Integer.valueOf: " + number2);
        } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
            System.err.println("Invalid number format for Integer.valueOf: " + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

I have implemented the conversion using both Integer.parseInt() and Integer.valueOf() methods with exception handling to catch NumberFormatException. My goal was to safely convert a String to an integer and handle any invalid input gracefully.

However, I am unsure if there are better practices or additional improvements I can make to handle this conversion effectively. For example, should I consider other methods or libraries that might provide better error handling or performance benefits?
**
Questions:**

1. Are there any significant differences between Integer.parseInt() and Integer.valueOf() in terms of exception handling or performance?
2. What are the best practices for handling NumberFormatException when converting a String to an int in Java?
3. Are there alternative approaches or libraries that can simplify this conversion and improve error handling?

Thank you for your guidance and suggestions!