Too Many Return Values

Why This Happens

Go enforces that the number of values in a return statement matches the function's declared return types. If the function signature says it returns int but your code returns int and error, the compiler rejects it.

The Problem

func divide(a, b int) int {
    if b == 0 {
        return 0, fmt.Errorf("division by zero") // too many return values
    }
    return a / b, nil
}

The Fix

func divide(a, b int) (int, error) {
    if b == 0 {
        return 0, fmt.Errorf("division by zero")
    }
    return a / b, nil
}

Step-by-Step Fix

1. 1

   Identify the mismatch

   Read the error to see how many values are being returned versus how many the signature expects.

2. 2

   Decide on the signature

   Determine if the function should return the additional values by updating the signature, or if the extra return values should be removed.

3. 3

   Update all return statements

   Ensure every return statement in the function matches the updated signature.