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Go Pointers
What is a Pointer?
A pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable.
Instead of storing a value directly, it points to where the value is stored in memory.
The Address Operator (&)
The & operator is used to get the memory address of a variable.
This is how you create a pointer in Go.
Dereferencing (*)
The * operator is used to access the value stored at a pointer’s address.
This is called dereferencing.
Modifying Values with Pointers
One of the most important uses of pointers is modifying a variable through its memory address.
Changing the value using the pointer also changes the original variable.
Pointers in Functions
By default, Go passes values to functions (pass-by-value).
Using pointers allows functions to modify the original variable.
Pointer Types
A pointer has a type based on what it points to.
For example, *int is a pointer to an integer.
Why Use Pointers?
Pointers are essential in Go for performance and memory efficiency.
- Avoid copying large data
- Allow functions to modify variables
- Used heavily with structs and methods
Common Mistakes
Be careful when working with pointers:
- Dereferencing a nil pointer will cause a runtime error
- Forgetting * when accessing values
- Confusing value vs address
Practice
Create a function that takes a pointer to an integer and doubles its value.