How to return errors as part of a function's public API in Go?

In Go, it is common to follow the convention of returning errors as part of a function's public API. This allows callers of the function to handle any potential errors gracefully and take appropriate action based on the returned error value.

Here are the steps to return errors as part of a function's public API in Go:

Step 1: Define your function signature with a return type of error:

func MyFunction() error { // Function implementation }

Step 2: When an error occurs within your function, use the errors.New method to create an error value and return it:

func MyFunction() error { if condition { return errors.New("Error message") } // Rest of the function implementation }

Step 3: Callers of your function can then check the returned error value and handle it accordingly:

err := MyFunction() if err != nil { // Handle the error log.Println("Error:", err) // Return or perform any desired error handling logic }

By following this approach, you ensure that consumers of your function's API are aware of potential errors and can handle them appropriately.