Conversion, strconv

Things in Go have types. And when required, we can convert between types with built-in casts or more complex custom methods.

In most languages, casting involves a series of complex considerations. It often causes errors. Go here is no exception. Some casts are incompatible.

Cast float, int

This program casts a float constant to an int. We call the int cast like a method. We can assign its result to an int variable.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    size := 1.2
    fmt.Println(size)

    // Convert to an int with a cast.
    i := int(size)
    fmt.Println(i)
}
1.2
1

Convert string, ints

We cannot just cast ints to strings (or strings to ints). We must use methods in the strconv module. We can use ParseInt, FormatInt, or the convenient Itoa and Atoi.

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "strconv"
)

func main() {
    value := 120

    // Use Itoa to convert int to string.
    result := strconv.Itoa(value)
    fmt.Println(result)
    if result == "120" {
        fmt.Println(true)
    }

    // Use Atoi to convert string to int.
    original, _ := strconv.Atoi(result)
    if original == 120 {
        fmt.Println(true)
    }
}
120
true
true

Slice to string

Here we convert a slice of strings into a single string. We use the strings.Join method. A comma character is inserted between all strings in the output.

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "strings"
)

func main() {
    // Slice of 3 strings.
    values := []string{"fish", "chicken", "lettuce"}
    // Convert slice into a string.
    result := strings.Join(values, ",");
    fmt.Println(result)
}
fish,chicken,lettuce

String, rune slice

Characters in a string are called runes—these are like ints. We can convert a string into a slice of runes. We also convert a rune slice into a string.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // An example string.
    value := "cat"
    fmt.Println(value)

    // Convert string into a slice of runes.
    slice := []rune(value)
    fmt.Println(slice)

    // Convert rune slice into a string.
    original := string(slice)
    fmt.Println(original)
}
cat
[99 97 116]
cat

Slice

More complex types (like map) can be converted also. We can use methods like append() to build up slices from the parts of a map.

Summary

Conversions are a recurring problem in programs. With types, we gain reliability. But often, to call methods, we must convert variables into compatible ones.