resultobjects

Result objects are data structures that represent the outcome of an operation, explicitly signaling success or failure and providing access to either the produced value or information about the error. They are used to propagate failures through a system without relying on exceptions, enabling explicit handling at each call site.

A typical result object contains a status indicator, a payload or value for successful outcomes, and error information for failures. Optional metadata such as error codes, messages, or timestamps may accompany the result. In many languages, results are implemented as a sum type with two variants (for example, Ok and Err, or Success and Failure), which encourages handling both sides of the outcome at compile time.

Usage patterns include functional-style chaining (mapping or transforming the success value, chaining operations that return results) and pattern matching to branch on the outcome. In languages like Rust, the Result<T, E> type enforces explicit handling of both success and error cases. Other languages implement a class or struct with fields such as is_ok, value, and error, or provide library-based equivalents.

Advantages of result objects include clearer error propagation, improved code readability, and better composability of operations. They help avoid unhandled exceptions and make failures part of the normal control flow. Drawbacks can include boilerplate for wrapping and unwrapping results, potential nesting of results, and a small performance or cognitive overhead in some scenarios.

Common use cases involve input/output operations, API calls, database queries, and other interactions where failures are anticipated and should be managed gracefully. Result objects are a design choice widely adopted in languages with strong type systems or functional programming influences.