How does Result work in Rust

Result is an enum that represents either a successful value (Ok) or an error (Err), allowing you to handle recoverable errors explicitly. You use it by returning Ok(value) on success or Err(error) on failure, then matching on the result to decide the next step.

fn read_file(path: &str) -> Result<String, std::io::Error> {
    if path.is_empty() {
        return Err(std::io::Error::new(std::io::ErrorKind::InvalidInput, "path is empty"));
    }
    Ok("file content".to_string())
}

fn main() {
    match read_file("data.txt") {
        Ok(content) => println!("Got: {}", content),
        Err(e) => println!("Error: {}", e),
    }
}

Result is a way to say 'it worked' or 'it failed' without crashing your program. Think of it like a package delivery: you either get the package (Ok) or a note explaining why it didn't arrive (Err). You use it whenever an action might fail, like reading a file or connecting to a database, so your code can handle the problem gracefully.