Are pointers in go language very useful?

Go language pointers are very useful. Their functions are: 1. Used to implement reference transfer; 2. Used to dynamically allocate memory; 3. Used to modify variables outside the function; 4. Used to handle some special situations. .

The operating environment of this tutorial: windows10 system, golang1.20.1 version, DELL G3 computer.

Go language is a modern programming language that focuses on simplicity, efficiency and security. In the Go language, a pointer is a special data type that stores the memory address of a variable. Although pointers are seen as a complex and error-prone feature in some other programming languages, in Go the use of pointers is very simple and safe. Pointers have important uses in the Go language. This article will explore the uses of pointers in the Go language and why they are so important.

1. Pointers are used to implement reference transfer in Go language. When passing a variable in a function, sometimes we need to pass the memory address of the variable instead of its copy. By passing the address of a variable to a function, the function can directly manipulate the original value of the variable without creating a copy of the variable, thus improving the performance and efficiency of the program. In addition, using pointers to pass variables can save memory space, especially when dealing with large data structures, such as arrays, slices, and structures.

2. Pointers are used to dynamically allocate memory in the Go language. The Go language provides the built-in `new` function, which is used to create a zero value of a specified type and return its pointer. With the `new` function, we can dynamically allocate memory at runtime without determining the size of the variable at compile time. This way, we can allocate and free memory as needed by the program. Using pointers to dynamically allocate memory can make our programs more flexible and scalable.

3. Pointers can also be used to modify variables outside the function. In Go language, functions are passed by value by default, that is, the function creates a copy of the variable and operates on the copy inside the function. If we want to modify a variable outside the function inside the function, we need to pass the pointer of the variable to the function. By using pointers within functions to modify variables, we can avoid copying large amounts of data between functions.

4. Pointers are used in Go language to handle some special situations, such as operating system level programming or interaction with other languages. In these cases, we may need to directly manipulate the memory address instead of accessing the data through variables. Pointers provide a simple and efficient way to handle these situations, giving programmers greater control and management of memory.

Although pointers have important uses in the Go language, they are not everywhere. In daily Go programming, we don't always need to use pointers. In fact, in Go language, it is recommended to use value passing rather than pointer passing, unless we really need to modify variables outside the function or deal with large data structures. When working with pointers, we also need to be careful to avoid some common mistakes, such as null pointer references and pointer escapes.

To summarize, although pointers are considered complex and error-prone features in some programming languages, in the Go language, the use of pointers is very simple and safe. Pointers play an important role in the Go language. They can be used to implement reference transfer, dynamically allocate memory, modify variables outside functions, and handle special situations. However, in daily Go programming, we do not always need to use pointers, but can flexibly choose to use pointers or value transfer according to actual needs. .

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