> are ignored error returns flagged/grumbled-about?
No, they are not.
func couldFail() error { /*...*/ }
func ohNoes() {
couldFail()
}
ohNoes() can call couldFail() and ignore the error return completely, without the compiler complaining.
This is intended. Error returns are not special; they are just another return value. Error handling by the caller includes "I don't care if there is an error". Yes, in some situations that's a bad code smell. In others, it really doesn't matter. Go puts the responsibility to decide which applies in the hands of the programmer.
To get the same effect in python, I'd have to wrap the call in
try:
couldFail()
except:
pass
