How Can I Safely Convert a C `[1024]C.char` Array to a Go `[1024]byte` Array?

Converting C char Array to Go byte Array

When working with C and Go, it is sometimes necessary to convert between the two languages' array types. This question explores the conversion of a C array of type [1024]C.char to a Go array type [1024]byte.

Unable to Convert Directly

Attempting to perform an interface conversion results in an error:

cannot convert (*_Cvar_my_buf) (type [1024]C.char) to type [1024]byte

This is because the two array types are fundamentally different in memory representation.

Solution: Copy to Slice

One safe and straightforward method to convert the C array is to copy its contents to a Go slice. This can be achieved using the following code:

mySlice := C.GoBytes(unsafe.Pointer(&C.my_buff), C.BUFF_SIZE)

Here, C.GoBytes converts the C array to a Go slice of bytes, which can be assigned to the variable mySlice.

Unsafe Conversion

If a direct memory access is required, it is possible to "cast" the C array to a Go byte array using unsafe.Pointer. However, this is an unsafe operation that should be used with caution:

mySlice := unsafe.Slice((*byte)(unsafe.Pointer(&C.my_buf)), C.BUFF_SIZE)

This casts the C array as a slice of bytes. If an array type is needed, the slice can be converted:

myArray := ([C.BUFF_SIZE]byte)(mySlice)

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