Go Slice Fill

In Go, filling a slice refers to assigning a specific value to all its elements. Since Go does not provide a built-in function to fill a slice, you can use a loop to set each element to the desired value.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to fill a slice in Go with practical examples and detailed explanations.

Steps to Fill a Slice

  • Create or Initialize a Slice: Define a slice with the desired length.
  • Use a Loop: Iterate through the slice and assign the desired value to each element.
  • Verify the Result: Print the slice to confirm that all elements have been updated.

Examples of Filling a Slice

1. Fill a Slice of Integers

This example demonstrates how to fill a slice of integers with a specific value:

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package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Create a slice of integers
    numbers := make([]int, 5)

    // Fill the slice with the value 42
    for i := range numbers {
        numbers[i] = 42
    }

    // Print the filled slice
    fmt.Println("Filled Slice:", numbers)
}

Explanation

  1. Create Slice: A slice named numbers is created with a length of 5 using make([]int, 5).
  2. Iterate Through Slice: A for loop is used to iterate through each index of the slice.
  3. Assign Values: Each element is assigned the value 42.
  4. Print Result: The slice is printed to confirm that all elements have been filled with the specified value.

Output

2. Fill a Slice of Strings

This example demonstrates how to fill a slice of strings with a specific value:

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package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Create a slice of strings
    words := make([]string, 4)

    // Fill the slice with the value "GoLang"
    for i := range words {
        words[i] = "GoLang"
    }

    // Print the filled slice
    fmt.Println("Filled Slice:", words)
}

Explanation

  1. Create Slice: A slice named words is created with a length of 4 using make([]string, 4).
  2. Iterate Through Slice: A for loop is used to iterate through each index of the slice.
  3. Assign Values: Each element is assigned the value "GoLang".
  4. Print Result: The slice is printed to confirm that all elements have been filled with the specified value.

Output

Points to Remember

  • Flexible Data Types: The same approach can be used for slices of any type, such as integers, strings, or structs.
  • Efficient Initialization: Filling slices is a common technique for initialization or resetting values.
  • Default Values: If no explicit value is provided, slice elements are initialized with their default value (0 for integers, false for booleans, and "" for strings).