Issue
I’ve stuck on understanding the pointer’s syntax. Here is my code:
package main
import "fmt"
type t struct{
item int
}
func main(){
x_struct := t{item:10}
x_normal := 10;
test(&x_normal, &x_struct)
}
func test(x_normal *int, x_struct *t){
fmt.Println(*x_normal, x_struct.item) // focus on this part
}
When I execute go run main.go it runs correctly and prints 10 10. Ok, we’ve passed two parameters to the test function by address (using &). And I printed the *x_normal variable (by using a * prefix. But surprisingly accessing *x_struct.item throws the following error:
invalid operation: cannot indirect x_struct.item (variable of type int)
And I need to remove that * to make it work. The fun point is when I remove that * it works as expected and it’s still a pointer as well.
Why? Why should I use * to get the content of a variable and not use it to get the content of a strcut?
Solution
In the function test, x_struct is a pointer, and you can access the item using (*x_struct).item. Go compiler provides the shortcut x_struct.item.
*x_struct.item is not valid, because the redirection applies to x_struct.item in that case, which is not a pointer.
Answered By – Burak Serdar
Answer Checked By – Dawn Plyler (GoLangFix Volunteer)