2D slice, array

In the Go language we model 2D things with slices of slices. In the 2 levels of nesting we store the 2 dimensions.

To create a 2D slice, we use append() to add each row. Then we can access the data by indexing through the slices.

Slice example

Consider a slice of slices: we could use the term "jagged" to describe nested slices. Each sub-slice can be any number of elements long.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Step 1: create empty collection.
    values := [][]int{}

    // Step 2: these are the first two rows.
    // ... Append each row to the two-dimensional slice.
    row1 := []int{1, 2, 3}
    row2 := []int{4, 5, 6}
    values = append(values, row1)
    values = append(values, row2)

    // Step 3: display first row, and second row.
    fmt.Println("Row 1")
    fmt.Println(values[0])
    fmt.Println("Row 2")
    fmt.Println(values[1])

    // Step 4: access an element.
    fmt.Println("First element")
    fmt.Println(values[0][0])
}
Row 1
[1 2 3]
Row 2
[4 5 6]
First element
1

2D arrays

To create a 2D array we must specify each dimension. We can then assign individual elements within the array. Here we create a 2 by 2 array of strings.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Create two-dimensional array.
    letters := [2][2]string{}

    // Assign all elements in 2 by 2 array.
    letters[0][0] = "a"
    letters[0][1] = "b"
    letters[1][0] = "c"
    letters[1][1] = "d"

    // Display result.
    fmt.Println(letters)
}
[[a b] [c d]]

Nested string slices

Here we use strings in nested slices. Each slice does not have the same length: this is a jagged slice. We loop over the nested slices with for.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Create an empty slice of slices.
    animals := [][]string{}

    // Create three string slices.
    row1 := []string{"fish", "shark", "eel"}
    row2 := []string{"bird"}
    row3 := []string{"lizard", "salamander"}

    // Append string slices to outer slice.
    animals = append(animals, row1)
    animals = append(animals, row2)
    animals = append(animals, row3)

    // Loop over slices in animals.
    for i := range animals {
        fmt.Printf("Row: %v\n", i)
        fmt.Println(animals[i])
    }
}
Row: 0
[fish shark eel]
Row: 1
[bird]
Row: 2
[lizard salamander]

Some data sources are often stored in a two-dimensional plane. This can be efficient. But often, using a map is a good option—it saves space in sparse collections.

Idiomatic Go is code that matches the language's popular usage. In Go we usually prefer slices (not arrays). So a 2D slice is an ideal solution.