Error Handling as a First-Class Concern

In most languages, error handling is an afterthought. Go takes a different approach: errors are values, and handling them is part of writing the code.

Why Go Gets This Right

The if err != nil pattern is verbose. That's the point. It forces you to think about what happens when things go wrong at every step.

Patterns That Work

• Wrap errors with context using fmt.Errorf("doing X: %w", err)
• Define sentinel errors for conditions callers need to check
• Use custom error types for structured information
• Log at the boundary, handle where you have context

The Bigger Principle

Reliable software fails predictably, communicates clearly, and recovers gracefully. Treating error handling as first-class is what separates production code from prototypes.