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How to instantiate Struct Pointer Address Operator in Golang?
In Golang, struct pointers are used to create a pointer to a struct, which allows for more efficient memory management and manipulation of struct fields. In this article, we will discuss how to instantiate a struct pointer using the address operator in Golang.
Step 1: Define the Struct
The first step in instantiating a struct pointer is to define the struct itself. For example, let's define a simple struct representing a person with a name and age −
type Person struct {
name string
age int
}
Step 2: Create a Struct Pointer
Once the struct is defined, we can create a struct pointer using the address operator "&". The address operator returns the memory address of the variable, which is stored as a pointer. To create a pointer to a struct, we simply apply the address operator to the struct variable −
person := Person{name: "John Doe", age: 30}
personPointer := &person
In this example, we create a Person struct variable named "person" and then create a pointer to it named "personPointer" using the address operator "&". The pointer "personPointer" now points to the memory location of the "person" variable.
Step 3: Accessing Struct Fields via Pointer
Once we have a pointer to a struct, we can access the struct fields using the arrow operator "->". The arrow operator dereferences the pointer and allows us to access the struct fields directly −
fmt.Println((*personPointer).name) fmt.Println(personPointer->age)
In this example, we use the arrow operator "->" to access the "name" and "age" fields of the "person" struct through the pointer "personPointer". The parentheses around "personPointer" in the first line are necessary because the "." operator has higher precedence than the "*" operator.
Step 4: Modifying Struct Fields via Pointer
Struct pointers are often used to modify struct fields directly in memory. To do this, we simply use the arrow operator "->" to access the field we want to modify and then assign a new value to it −
personPointer->age = 35
In this example, we modify the "age" field of the "person" struct by assigning a new value to it through the pointer "personPointer".
Example
package main
import "fmt"
type Person struct {
name string
age int
}
func main() {
// Step 1: Define the Struct
type Person struct {
name string
age int
}
// Step 2: Create a Struct Pointer
person := Person{name: "John Doe", age: 30}
personPointer := &person
// Step 3: Accessing Struct Fields via Pointer
fmt.Println((*personPointer).name)
fmt.Println(personPointer.age)
// Step 4: Modifying Struct Fields via Pointer
personPointer.age = 35
fmt.Println(person)
}
Output
John Doe
30
{John Doe 35}
Conclusion
In Golang, struct pointers are used to create a pointer to a struct, which allows for more efficient memory management and manipulation of struct fields. To instantiate a struct pointer, we use the address operator "&" to create a pointer to a struct variable. We can then access and modify the struct fields using the arrow operator "->". By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create and manipulate struct pointers in your Golang programs.
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