What is the Zero Value of Go's `time.Time` Type and How Do I Handle It in Error Conditions?

Zero Value of time.Time in Go

Handling error conditions in Go requires a clear understanding of the zero value for the time.Time type. While it's tempting to return nil for an error, the compiler throws an error if this is attempted with time.Time.

What is the Zero Value for time.Time?

Unlike other types in Go, the zero value for time.Time is not nil. Instead, it represents the zero time instant: January 1, year 1, 00:00:00 UTC.

Alternative to nil for Error Handling

To determine if a time.Time value represents the zero value for error handling, use the Time.IsZero() function:

func (Time) IsZero

This function returns true if the time is the zero value and false otherwise.

Example

func getTime() (time.Time, error) {
    // Error occurred
    return time.Time{}, fmt.Errorf("Error message")
}

This function returns the zero value for time.Time and an error without triggering any compilation errors. The caller can then handle the error and the zero value appropriately.

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