What is the best practice for return values in golang?

Go return value best practices include five recommendations: name return values to improve readability; return an error to handle errors; specify explicit types to prevent type errors; ensure return value order is consistent with function signature; return value preservation Minimal, only necessary data is returned.

Best practices for returning values in Go

In Go, the return value of a function can be used between the caller and the called transfer data between them. Following these best practices ensures your code is readable, maintainable, and efficient.

1. Use named return values

For multiple return values, using named return values can improve the readability of the code. For example:

func GetNameAndAge() (string, int) { return "John", 30 }

2. Returning Errors

To handle errors, expose them as function return values. This allows the caller to easily check for errors and take action if necessary. For example:

func OpenFile(path string) (*os.File, error) { file, err := os.Open(path) return file, err }

3. Use explicit types

Always specify an explicit type for the return value. This helps prevent type conversion errors and makes the code easier to reason about. For example:

func GetPercentage() float64 { return 50.0 }

4. Return value sequence

The order of the return value should be consistent with the order of the function signature. This makes the code easier to understand and maintain. For example:

func Divide(numerator, denominator int) (int, error) { if denominator == 0 { return 0, errors.New("Division by zero") } return numerator / denominator, nil }

5. Keep the return value to a minimum

Avoid returning unnecessary values. Only the data the caller really needs is returned. Too many return values will reduce the readability and maintainability of the code.

Practical case

Consider the following function to calculate the user's age:

func GetAge(birthdate string) int { return calculateAge(birthdate) }

Following best practices, we can improve this function as follows:

func GetAge(birthdate string) (int, error) { age, err := calculateAge(birthdate) return age, err }

Now the function returns an error, which can be easily handled if the age cannot be calculated.

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