Introduction

Structures, often referred to as structs, are a composite data type in Go that allow you to group together variables of different types into a single entity. Unlike arrays, which store multiple values of the same data type, structs enable you to create custom data types with a mixture of different data types.

Declaring a Struct

To declare a struct in Go, you use the type and struct keywords followed by the struct's name and its member variables enclosed in curly braces.

type Car struct {
  brand  string
  model  string
  year   int
  price  float64
}

In this example, we define a struct named Car with four member variables: brand, model, year, and price.

Accessing Struct Members

You can access individual members of a struct using the dot (.) operator followed by the member name. Here's how you can declare a struct variable and access its members:

package main

import "fmt"

type Car struct {
  brand  string
  model  string
  year   int
  price  float64
}

func main() {
  var myCar Car
  myCar.brand = "Toyota"
  myCar.model = "Camry"
  myCar.year = 2020
  myCar.price = 25000.50

  fmt.Println("Brand:", myCar.brand)
  fmt.Println("Model:", myCar.model)
  fmt.Println("Year:", myCar.year)
  fmt.Println("Price:", myCar.price)
}

Output:

Brand: Toyota
Model: Camry
Year: 2020
Price: 25000.5

Passing Structs as Function Arguments

You can pass structs as function arguments, allowing you to work with structured data within functions. Here's an example:

package main

import "fmt"

type Car struct {
  brand  string
  model  string
  year   int
  price  float64
}

func main() {
  myCar := Car{"Honda", "Civic", 2018, 20000.75}
  printCarDetails(myCar)
}

func printCarDetails(c Car) {
  fmt.Println("Brand:", c.brand)
  fmt.Println("Model:", c.model)
  fmt.Println("Year:", c.year)
  fmt.Println("Price:", c.price)
}

Output:

Brand: Honda
Model: Civic
Year: 2018
Price: 20000.75

Conclusion

Structs are a powerful feature in Go that allow you to create custom data types to represent complex entities. They provide a convenient way to encapsulate related data and operations into a single unit. By understanding how to declare and use structs, you can write more organized and maintainable code in your Go programs. Experiment with different struct designs to model your data effectively and efficiently.