When implementing error handling, balance between propagation and recovery. Design error types to preserve context while providing users with meaningful ways to handle failure. For error propagation: - Implement the complete `std::error::Error` trait, including `source()` method for error chaining - Choose return types that preserve necessary context (e.g., prefer `Result` over `Result<()>` when position information is needed) - Use `Send + Sync` error types when errors might cross thread boundaries For recovery paths: - Provide fallback values for non-critical failures instead of panicking - Simplify error variants when distinctions aren't meaningful to users ```rust // Poor: May panic unexpectedly and loses context let pos = std.stream_position().unwrap(); // Better: Provides fallback and preserves error context let pos = std.stream_position().unwrap_or(0); // Poor: Error type lacks context and proper trait implementation struct MyError(()); // Better: Full featured error with context preservation struct MyError { inner: T, cause: io::Error, } impl std::error::Error for MyError { fn source(&self) -> Option<&(dyn std::error::Error + 'static)> { Some(&self.cause) } } // Even in examples, show proper error handling // Poor: Ignores errors let _ = compress_data(reader).await; // Better: Shows proper error handling compress_data(reader).await?; ```