Slices vs arrays in Go¶

In Go, both arrays and slices are used to store collections of data, but they differ significantly in flexibility and behavior.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]

Arrays¶

An array is a fixed-size collection of variables of the same type.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md] When defining an array, you must specify its capacity (e.g., [2]string), which determines the exact number of elements it can hold.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]

Because arrays have a static length, you cannot add more items than the initial capacity allows.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]

// Arrays allow us to make a collection of variables of the same type
func getData() (customers [2]string) {
  customer := "Marcel Dempers"
  customers[0] = customer
  customers[1] = "Bob Smith"
  return customers
}

Slices¶

Slices are a dynamically-sized, flexible view into arrays.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md] Unlike arrays, slices do not require a fixed size to be declared at initialization, allowing the collection to grow or shrink as needed.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]

To add elements to a slice beyond its initial capacity, the built-in append function is used.^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]

// Slices are a dynamically-sized view into arrays
func getData() (customers []string) {
  customers = []string{ "Marcel Dempers", "Bob Smith" }

  // Add more items dynamically
  customers = append(customers, "Ben Spain")
  return customers
}

Key Differences¶

Sources¶

^[400-devops__09-Scripting-Language__golang__introduction__readme.md]