When and Why Do We Use Pointers to Pointers in Go?

What Practical Applications Exist for Pointers to Pointers (e.g., int)?**

Introduction

Pointers to pointers, denoted as **int in Go, allow programmers to manipulate the address of another pointer variable. This concept can seem abstract, leading to questions about its practical applications in production code.

Use Cases for Pointers to Pointers

Pointers to pointers can be utilized effectively in situations where a function needs to modify the reference of a variable rather than simply changing the value it points to. One notable example is in the Go compiler internals, where certain functions accept a **Node type. These functions can alter the object that a pointer variable points to, allowing for flexibility in code manipulation.

Other Examples

• In HTML parsing, pointers to pointers can be leveraged to handle parsing needs efficiently. By keeping parsed trees around and avoiding unnecessary parsing, this approach optimizes code execution.
• In Objective-C, methods commonly utilize NSError** as their final parameter, enabling the optional return of an error object.

Conclusion

Pointers to pointers are a useful tool in situations where the ability to modify variable references is required. While not as common as regular pointers, they find applications in specific scenarios where multiple return values or dynamic memory management is necessary.

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