[RodgerTheGreat]

Java throwables come in two flavors: Exceptions like IOException which must be checked, and Errors like AssertionError which do not need to be checked. If you really, really don't like checked exceptions you can easily build libraries and write code that rely exclusively upon unchecked exceptions. I wouldn't personally recommend this design methodology.

[pedanticfreak]

Errors and unchecked Exceptions in Java should not be confused. An Error is typically reserved for the runtime environment for a "this ship is sinking, abandon all hands" kind of unrecoverable error. More properly Exceptions in execution that aren't checked in Java extend RuntimeException and not Error.

The stigma that Java has too many checked exceptions is no longer true with modern Java code. Everyone is using unchecked children of RuntimeException almost exclusively. Of course, there is still plenty of legacy code out there using outdated checked exception paradigms.