DEPR: deprecate errors='ignore' in to_datetime and make output dtype predictable

[MarcoGorelli]

Feature Type

• Adding new functionality to pandas

• Changing existing functionality in pandas

• Removing existing functionality in pandas

Problem Description

currently, if you do to_datetime(inputs), you don't really know what the dtype of the output will be. It could be Index or DatetimeIndex

Deprecating parsing mixed offsets goes part of the way to addressing this

Feature Description

Can we go all the way there, and deprecate errors='ignore'? Then, if the computation succeeds, then you get DatetimeIndex (potentially with some NaTs if errors='coerce')

Alternative Solutions

none that I can think of

Additional Context

there's talk about query optimisation in pandas, and greater predictability should help with that

[jbrockmendel]

+1

[mroeschke]

Likewise for to_timedelta and to_numeric

[Cyddharth-Gupta]

@MarcoGorelli I am willing to take up this issue but I was hoping if I can get more info into this, if we deprecate errors='ignore' then shall it return a warning that it is deprecated?

[MarcoGorelli]

yup, that's right!

[Cyddharth-Gupta]

okay, then I will take up this issue.

[Cyddharth-Gupta]

take