I would like to know what my default practice should be when returning structs from functions. Should I return a value or a pointer? (Assume I don't need the functionality of returning a pointer and my struct contains at most one simple field so a vast copy isn't needed if I return a value.)
A specific example could be the errors package <https://golang.org/src/errors/errors.go> with errors.New. The New function is implemented by returning an errorString pointer: <https://play.golang.org/p/WPmP8ZVS0_> func New(text string) error { return &errorString{text} } Could it just as easily have been implemented by returning an errorString value <https://play.golang.org/p/Gawy-mgw2X>? If so why was the pointer return chosen over value return? func New(text string) error { return errorString{text} } Could it also have been implemented as below <https://play.golang.org/p/H2NIARHO-Y> which looks even simpler? func New(text string) error { return errorString(text) } // errorString is a trivial implementation of error. type errorString string func (e errorString) Error() string { return string(e) } What was the thought process that went into the implementation of the errors package? Were the latter two implementation options I suggest considered? If so why were they disregarded? Performance? Coding standards? Heap allocation benefits? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "golang-nuts" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to golang-nuts+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
