Control Structures in Go

It is time to discuss control structures in Go. You will start with the if statement.

if statement

The syntax is as follows:

Copy if boolean_expression_1 { // execute, if boolean_expression_1 is true } else if boolean_expression_2 { // execute, if boolean_expression_1 is false but boolean_expression_2 // is true // } else if ... } else if boolean_expression_n { // execute, if boolean_expression_1, ... , boolean_expression_(n-1) are // false, but boolean_expression_n is true } else { // execute, if boolean_expression_1, ... , boolean_expression_n are false }

You need brackets {} for each if statement. The { bracket needs to be on the same line as the if statement.

If you want to use an else if or else statement, note that they have to be on the same line as the } bracket of the previous block.

You can also give if or else if a short statement to execute before the condition:

Copy if s := 10%2; s==0 { fmt.Println(s) }

Boolean expressions evaluate for true or false. The comparison operators are:

Copy == equal != not equal < less <= less or equal > greater >= greater or equal

The if statement is also used for error handling. You will often see code like:

Copy if err != nil { fmt.Printf(err) }

switch statement

The syntax of a switch statement is as follows:

Copy switch expression { case value_1: // do something if expression is equal to value_1 case value_2: // do something if expression is equal to value_2 // ... case value_n: // do something if expression is equal to value_n default: // do something if value_1 ... value_n does not match expression }

Cases are evaluated from top to bottom. The switch finishes if a case succeeds.

values_x must have the same type as expression.

If you do not give an expression to switch, then Go interprets it as switch true. This provides another way to write if-else if-else chains:

Copy switch { case boolean_expression_1: // if true is equal to boolean_expression_1 // which is the same as if boolean_expression_1 is true. case boolean_expression_2: // else if // ... case boolean_expression_n: // else if default: // else }

Unlike other languages (for example C), you do not need to break to avoid fallthrough. In Go, you need to fallthrough explicitly. fallthrough will enter the next case, even if the expression does not match.

There are so-called type switches in Go:

Copy var i interface{} switch i.(type) { case bool: // if i has type bool fmt.Printf("Value of i is %v\n", i.(bool)) case int32, in64: // ... // ... default: // i has another type }

You can use multiple value cases, like case 1, 2, 4, 9, 16:.

for statement

for is the only looping statement in Go. The syntax is as follows:

Copy for init_statement; condition_expression; post_statement { // do something }

Before the iterations start, it will first execute the init_statement. The loop body will be executed as long as condition_expression is true. The post_statement will be executed at the end of every iteration.

init_statement and post_statement are optional. Without them, the for statement is like the while statement in other languages.

You can use continue to skip the iteration or break to terminate the execution, like in C, C#, Java, etc.

Further reading:

• Errors are values (opens new window)

synopsis

To summarize, this section has explored:

• Control structures in Go, and the syntax used by the if statement, the switch statement, and the for statement.
• How unlike other languages Go does not need to break to avoid fallthrough, instead you need to provide the fallthrough instruction explicitly.