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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-07-09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."],[[["The latest release candidate version is 2.37.0-rc, with many previous versions, down to 2.11.0, available for reference."],["This library uses `StatusOr` instead of exceptions to handle errors, allowing applications to check for the presence of a value before accessing it."],["Applications can use `.ok()` or `operator bool()` to verify if a `StatusOr\u003cT\u003e` contains a value, with the option to retrieve the contained `Status` object via `.status()` if there is an error."],["Accessing the value within a `StatusOr\u003cT\u003e` is done through dereferencing operators (`operator*()` or `operator-\u003e()`), but `.value()` may also be used although it throws a `RuntimeStatusError` if there's no value."],["Asynchronous operations utilize `future\u003cStatusOr\u003cT\u003e\u003e` to return results or errors, emphasizing the `StatusOr` pattern for handling potential issues."]]],[]]
