How Can I Retrieve the Line Number from Error Messages in Go?

Retrieving Line Number from Error Messages in Go

Programmers often encounter errors while developing Golang applications. While error handling is crucial, logging such errors without the corresponding line number can hinder debugging efforts.

Problem Statement

log.Fatal is a standard Go function used to print error messages. However, it does not include the line number where the error occurred. Consequently, this can make it challenging to pinpoint the source of the problem. The question arises: how can we access the line number when throwing an error in Go without resorting to complex methods or custom code?

Solution

Fortunately, Go provides a simple and effective way to retrieve the line number associated with an error message. By setting the Flags field of the logger, we can enable options such as Llongfile or Lshortfile, which add the exact line number or the file name and line number respectively to the error output.

// Setting flags on the default logger
log.SetFlags(log.LstdFlags | log.Lshortfile)

This configuration ensures that any subsequent error messages logged through the default logger will include the line number where the error occurred.

Benefits

Utilizing this approach offers several benefits:

• Enhanced error visibility: Developers can quickly identify the specific location in the code where an error occurred, facilitating efficient debugging.
• Standardization: By adhering to standard logging practices, code becomes more accessible and understandable to collaborators and maintainers.
• Reduced debugging overhead: Eliminates the need for repetitive debug.PrintStack() calls, streamlining the debugging process.

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