This library never throws exceptions to signal error. In general, the library returns a StatusOr if an error is possible. Some functions return objects that are not wrapped in a StatusOr<T> but will themselves return a StatusOr<T> to signal an error. For example, wrappers for asynchronous operations return future<StatusOr<T>>.
Applications should check if the StatusOr<T> contains a value before using it, much like how you might check that a pointer is not null before dereferencing it. Indeed, a StatusOr<T> object can be used like a smart-pointer to T, with the main difference being that when it does not hold a T it will instead hold a Status object with extra information about the error.
You can check that a StatusOr<T> contains a value by calling the .ok() method, or by using operator bool() (like with other smart pointers). If there is no value, you can access the contained Status object using the .status() member. If there is a value, you may access it by dereferencing with operator*() or operator->(). As with all smart pointers, callers must first check that the StatusOr<T> contains a value before dereferencing and accessing the contained value. Alternatively, callers may instead use the .value() member function which is defined to throw a RuntimeStatusError if there is no value.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-07-09 UTC."],[[["This page details the error handling process for the C++ Bigtable library, which does not use exceptions to indicate errors."],["The library uses `StatusOr\u003cT\u003e` to signal potential errors, requiring applications to check if a value is present before accessing it."],["You can confirm if a `StatusOr\u003cT\u003e` has a value with `.ok()` or `operator bool()`, and can get the `Status` object if it doesn't by calling the `.status()` method."],["The library provides methods such as `operator*()`, `operator-\u003e()`, and `.value()` to access the value within `StatusOr\u003cT\u003e`, with `.value()` throwing a `RuntimeStatusError` or terminating the program if a value is absent."],["The latest version available is 2.37.0-rc, and there are a wide range of versions available, from 2.11.0 up to the latest, with links to each version's specific error-handling documentation."]]],[]]
