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March 10, 2025 21:56
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Go Programming Language Cheatsheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet for the Go programming language, covering syntax, data types, control flow, concurrency, and more. Perfect for quick reference and learning.

Basics and Syntax

Hello, World!

The classic first program.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}

Explanation:

  • package main declares this file as part of the main package, the entry point of the application.
  • import "fmt" imports the fmt package, providing formatting and printing functions.
  • func main() defines the main function where the program execution begins.
  • fmt.Println prints the given string to standard output.

Variable Declaration

var Keyword

Explicitly declares a variable with optional type.

var name string = "John"
var age int
var height float64

:= Short Assignment

Declares and initializes a variable, inferring the type. Only usable inside functions.

message := "Hello"
count := 10

Multiple Declarations

Declare multiple variables at once.

var (
    name string = "Jane"
    age  int    = 30
)

firstName, lastName := "John", "Doe"

Constants

Declaration

Constants are declared like variables, but with the const keyword.

const PI = 3.14159
const MAX_SIZE int = 100

Iota

Used for creating enumerated constants.

const (
    Sunday = iota
    Monday
    Tuesday
)

Data Types

Basic Data Types

Integers: int, int8, int16, int32, int64, uint, uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64, uintptr

Floating-Point Numbers: float32, float64

Complex Numbers: complex64, complex128

Boolean: bool (true or false)

String: string (UTF-8 encoded)

Example:

var age int = 30
var price float64 = 99.99
var isValid bool = true
var message string = "Hello, Go!"

Composite Types

Arrays

Fixed-size sequence of elements of the same type.

var numbers [5]int
numbers := [5]int{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Slices

Dynamically-sized sequence of elements of the same type. Built on top of arrays.

slice := []int{1, 2, 3}
slice = append(slice, 4)

Maps

Key-value pairs where keys are unique.

ages := map[string]int{
    "John": 30,
    "Jane": 25,
}

Pointers

Declaration

A pointer holds the memory address of a value.

var p *int
i := 42
p = &i

Dereferencing

Accessing the value pointed to by the pointer.

fmt.Println(*p) // Output: 42

Control Flow

Conditional Statements

if Statement:

if age >= 18 {
    fmt.Println("Eligible to vote")
} else {
    fmt.Println("Not eligible to vote")
}

if with Short Statement:

if err := doSomething(); err != nil {
    fmt.Println("Error occurred:", err)
}

Switch Statement

Basic Switch

Evaluates a variable against a list of cases.

switch day {
case "Sunday":
    fmt.Println("It's Sunday!")
case "Monday":
    fmt.Println("It's Monday!")
default:
    fmt.Println("It's another day.")
}

Fallthrough

Forces execution to continue to the next case.

switch i {
case 1:
    fmt.Println("One")
    fallthrough
case 2:
    fmt.Println("Two")
}

Looping Constructs

for Loop:

for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
    fmt.Println(i)
}

for...range Loop: Iterates over elements in an array, slice, string, map, or channel.

numbers := []int{1, 2, 3}
for index, value := range numbers {
    fmt.Println(index, value)
}

while Loop (simulated with for):

i := 0
for i < 10 {
    fmt.Println(i)
    i++
}

Functions and Packages

Function Definition

Basic Syntax

 
func functionName(parameter1 type1, parameter2 type2) returnType {
    // Function body
    return value
}

Multiple Return Values

 
func getValues() (int, string) {
    return 10, "Hello"
}

x, message := getValues()

Named Return Values

 
func split(sum int) (x, y int) {
    x = sum * 4 / 9
    y = sum - x
    return
}

Packages and Imports

Importing Packages

 
import "fmt" // Single import

import (
    "fmt"
    "math"
)

Package Aliases

 
import f "fmt"

f.Println("Hello")

Exported Names

Identifiers that start with a capital letter are exported from the package.

package mypackage

func MyFunction() {} // Exported
func myFunction() {} // Not exported

Concurrency

Goroutines

Lightweight, concurrent functions.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"time"
)

func say(s string) {
	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
		time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
		fmt.Println(s)
	}
}

func main() {
	go say("world")
	say("hello")
}

Channels

Declaration

Used for communication between goroutines.

ch := make(chan int)

Sending and Receiving

 
ch <- 42      // Send value
value := <-ch // Receive value

Buffered Channels

Channels with a capacity.

ch := make(chan int, 10)

WaitGroup

Waits for a collection of goroutines to finish.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"sync"
	"time"
)

func worker(id int, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
	defer wg.Done()

	fmt.Printf("Worker %d starting\n", id)

	time.Sleep(time.Second)
	fmt.Printf("Worker %d done\n", id)
}

func main() {
	var wg sync.WaitGroup

	for i := 1; i <= 3; i++ {
		wg.Add(1)
		go worker(i, &wg)
	}

	wg.Wait()

	fmt.Println("All workers done!")
}