proposal: return sugar

[gertcuykens]

I looked around and didn't find any tickets about it, but what about a little bit of sugar for a optional auto return values as soon as there are assigned and none of them is nil using the following syntax?

// returns err if not nil
func example()  error {
     dat, !err := ioutil.ReadFile("/tmp/dat")
     ...
}

// returns (x, y) if none of them is nil
func split() (int, int) {
    !(x, y) := 6, 5
    ...
}

Which unclutters the code allot when you have many return's in a function http://play.golang.org/p/2kEKXq-kUV

[bradfitz]

This has been proposed in dozens of forms ad nauseam here and elsewhere. Even if this were to go through the https://golang.org/s/proposal-process, I have no belief it would fare better than the previous proposals.

For previous proposals, I see at least 8 searching the golang-nuts mailing list for "error handling sugar".

[gertcuykens]

ok :) ps it's a more general return proposal actually not just error's

[bradfitz]

You're more than welcome to write a formal proposal using https://golang.org/s/proposal-process but the bar for language changes at this point is pretty much impossible (and has been for years), so you'd have to be very convincing with lots of data to back you up on how this would affect Go programs out there.

[gertcuykens]

Understandably so :) you don't want to have a python 2, 3 scenario. I couldn't see any issue for breaking current syntax but I am not a expert. Anyway will ask for more expert advice. https://forum.golangbridge.org/t/proposal-return-sugar/1858