I've never understood why Go tries so hard to reinvent exceptions. I've read their manifesto, their books, and this new exception syntax, but I'm not convinced the problem they're describing exists; and, even if it does exist, that their implementation solves it.
Exceptions in Ruby, Python, Java, C#, etc. are a tried-and-true paradigm for handling unexpected code paths, with a clear syntax: the only problem with exceptions is that developers don't use them, or don't use them properly, or aren't forced to use them (e.g, checked exceptions, a la Java's throws), all of which can be fixed with compilation rules.
As someone who writes defensive code, and utilizes a lot of exception throwing/handling for 14+ years, Go's lack of a rational exception framework is a big turn off.
Exceptions in Ruby, Python, Java, C#, etc. are a tried-and-true paradigm for handling unexpected code paths, with a clear syntax: the only problem with exceptions is that developers don't use them, or don't use them properly, or aren't forced to use them (e.g, checked exceptions, a la Java's throws), all of which can be fixed with compilation rules.
As someone who writes defensive code, and utilizes a lot of exception throwing/handling for 14+ years, Go's lack of a rational exception framework is a big turn off.