What is the difference between panic and error in Go?

Question

Accepted Answer

**panic** — unrecoverable crash. **error** — expected failure.

**panic:**
- Unrecoverable.
- Stops normal execution.
- Runs deferred functions.
- Crashes program.

```go
func divide(a, b int) int {
    if b == 0 {
        panic("division by zero")  // Crash
    }
    return a / b
}
```

**error:**
- Expected failure.
- Can be handled.
- Return value.

```go
func divide(a, b int) (int, error) {
    if b == 0 {
        return 0, errors.New("division by zero")
    }
    return a / b, nil
}

// Handle error
result, err := divide(10, 0)
if err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error:", err)
}
```

**When to use:**
- **panic** — truly exceptional, unrecoverable.
- **error** — expected failures, handle gracefully.

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