golang/go

encoding/binary: Varint signature/docs could benefit from name result parameters

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#49,603 opened on Nov 16, 2021

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Description

https://pkg.go.dev/encoding/binary@master#Varint says:

func Varint(buf []byte) (int64, int)

Varint decodes an int64 from buf and returns that value and the number of bytes read (> 0). If an error occurred, the value is 0 and the number of bytes n is <= 0 with the following meaning:

n == 0: buf too small
n  < 0: value larger than 64 bits (overflow)
        and -n is the number of bytes read

--

That signature and docs (referencing n that's never named) are really asking to have named results.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Review the current Varint documentation, understand the suggested improvement, and prepare a change that adds named return parameters to the Varint function and updates the documentation accordingly.
Tech stack
go
Domain
backenddocumentation
Issue type
Documentation
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GoGit
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
80