How to handle errors and failures when loading and using plugins in Golang?

Handling errors and failures when loading and using plugins in Golang can be done using the following steps:

Use the plugin package to load the plugin: Import the plugin package and use the Open function to load the plugin. This function returns a *plugin.Plugin or an error if the loading fails.

import "plugin"

p, err := plugin.Open("plugin.so")
if err != nil {
    // handle error
}

Retrieve the exported symbols from the plugin: Use the Lookup function to retrieve the exported symbols from the plugin. This function returns an interface{} or an error if the symbol is not found.

// Assuming the exported symbol is a function named "PluginFunc"
sym, err := p.Lookup("PluginFunc")
if err != nil {
    // handle error
}

Assert and use the symbol: If the symbol is found successfully, assert it to the desired type and use it.

// Assuming the symbol is a function of type "func()" that returns an error
pluginFunc := sym.(func() error)
if err := pluginFunc(); err != nil {
    // handle error
}

Note: It is essential to handle errors using appropriate error handling techniques such as logging, returning errors to the caller, or taking other actions based on your specific needs.