--- title: ok Considered Harmful | daily.dev description: The post discusses the convention of naming boolean existence variables in Go as 'ok', and argues that it is harmful and should be replaced with a more... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/ok-considered-harmful-sg0zhkc4o twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: ok Considered Harmful | daily.dev og:description: The post discusses the convention of naming boolean existence variables in Go as 'ok', and argues that it is harmful and should be replaced with a more... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/ok-considered-harmful-sg0zhkc4o og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Sg0zHKC4o.png og:image:alt: ok Considered Harmful og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- [Lobsters](https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters) [Read post](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o) # [ok Considered Harmful](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o "Go to post") The post discusses the convention of naming boolean existence variables in Go as 'ok', and argues that it is harmful and should be replaced with a more descriptive convention such as 'exists'. It provides examples and benefits of using the new convention. [#golang](/tags/golang "Check all #golang posts") May 15, 2024•10m read time•From [dolthub.com](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o "dolthub.com") [](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o "Go to post") Table of contents [Introduction](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=introduction "Introduction")[ok](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=ok "ok")[ok: Not for just maps](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=ok-not-for-just-maps "ok: Not for just maps")[ok Considered Harmful](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=ok-considered-harmful "ok Considered Harmful")[A better alternative exists](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=a-better-alternative-exists "A better alternative exists")[Variation: optional channel receives](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=variation-optional-channel-receives "Variation: optional channel receives")[But I like using ok](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=but-i-like-using-ok "But I like using ok")[An exception: type assertions](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=an-exception-type-assertions "An exception: type assertions")[Doesn't this apply to err as well?](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=doesnt-this-apply-to-err-as-well "Doesn't this apply to err as well?")[Conclusion](https://api.daily.dev/r/Sg0zHKC4o?a=conclusion "Conclusion") 628 Impressions5 Upvotes1 Comment Comment Bookmark Copy Share your thoughtsPost [](https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters) [Lobsters](https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters "https://daily.dev/sources/lobsters") Lobsters is a community-driven platform for sharing and discussing links to articles, tutorials, and... 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