How Can I Allocate Non-Constant Size Arrays in Go?

Allocating Non-Constant Size Arrays in Go: Slices to the Rescue

Unlike other languages, Go doesn't allow allocating arrays with dynamic sizes directly. When you attempt to create an array with a variable size, such as var a [n]int, you will encounter a compile-time error.

This restriction isn't a limitation but rather a push towards using slices, a more flexible and powerful data structure in Go. Slices are similar to arrays, but they have a dynamic size that can be adjusted at runtime.

To allocate an array using slices, you can use the make function, which creates both a slice and the underlying array:

n := 12
s := make([]int, n, 2*n)

In this example, s is a slice of integers, and a new array of size 2*n is allocated to store the slice elements. The slice s initially refers to the first half of the array.

This method provides both the flexibility to adjust the array size dynamically and the benefits of working with arrays, such as guaranteed contiguous memory allocation. Therefore, it's common practice in Go to rely on slices rather than arrays for dynamic data management.

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