Arrays in Golang or Go programming language is much similar to other programming languages. In the program, sometimes we need to store a collection of data of the same type, like a list of student marks. Such type of collection is stored in a program using an Array. An array is a fixed-length sequence that is used to store homogeneous elements in the memory. Golang does not provide a specific built-in function to copy one array into another array. But we can create a copy of an array by simply assigning an array to a new variable by value or by reference. If we create a copy of an array by value and made some changes in the values of the original array, then it will not reflect in the copy of that array. And if we create a copy of an array by reference and made some changes in the values of the original array, then it will reflect in the copy of that array. As shown in the below examples:
Syntax:
// creating a copy of an array by value arr := arr1
// Creating a copy of an array by reference arr := &arr1
Let us discuss this concept with the help of the examples:
Example 1:
Go
// Go program to illustrate how// to copy an array by valuepackage mainimport "fmt"func main() { // Creating and initializing an array // Using shorthand declaration my_arr1 := [5]string{"Scala", "Perl", "Java", "Python", "Go"} // Copying the array into new variable // Here, the elements are passed by value my_arr2 := my_arr1 fmt.Println("Array_1: ", my_arr1) fmt.Println("Array_2:", my_arr2) my_arr1[0] = "C++" // Here, when we copy an array // into another array by value // then the changes made in original // array do not reflect in the // copy of that array fmt.Println("\nArray_1: ", my_arr1) fmt.Println("Array_2: ", my_arr2)} |
Output:
Array_1: [Scala Perl Java Python Go] Array_2: [Scala Perl Java Python Go] Array_1: [C++ Perl Java Python Go] Array_2: [Scala Perl Java Python Go]
Example 2:
C
// Go program to illustrate how to// copy an array by referencepackage main import "fmt" func main(){// Creating and initializing an array// Using shorthand declarationmy_arr1: = [6] int { 12, 456, 67, 65, 34, 34 } // Copying the array into new variable // Here, the elements are passed by reference my_arr2 : = &my_arr1 fmt.Println("Array_1: ", my_arr1) fmt.Println("Array_2:", *my_arr2) my_arr1[5] = 1000000 // Here, when we copy an array // into another array by reference // then the changes made in original // array will reflect in the // copy of that array fmt.Println("\nArray_1: ", my_arr1) fmt.Println("Array_2:", *my_arr2)} |
Output:
Array_1: [12 456 67 65 34 34] Array_2: [12 456 67 65 34 34] Array_1: [12 456 67 65 34 1000000] Array_2: [12 456 67 65 34 1000000]
There are several ways to copy an array into another array in Go. Here are three common methods:
1.Using a loop:
Go
package mainimport "fmt"func main() { originalArray := []int{1, 2, 3, 4, 5} copyArray := make([]int, len(originalArray)) for i, value := range originalArray { copyArray[i] = value } fmt.Println("Original Array: ", originalArray) fmt.Println("Copy Array: ", copyArray)} |
Output:
Original Array: [1 2 3 4 5] Copy Array: [1 2 3 4 5]
2.Using the copy function:
Go
package mainimport "fmt"func main() { originalArray := []int{1, 2, 3, 4, 5} copyArray := make([]int, len(originalArray)) copy(copyArray, originalArray) fmt.Println("Original Array: ", originalArray) fmt.Println("Copy Array: ", copyArray)} |
Output:
Original Array: [1 2 3 4 5] Copy Array: [1 2 3 4 5]
3. Using the append function:
Go
package mainimport "fmt"func main() { originalArray := []int{1, 2, 3, 4, 5} copyArray := make([]int, 0, len(originalArray)) copyArray = append(copyArray, originalArray...) fmt.Println("Original Array: ", originalArray) fmt.Println("Copy Array: ", copyArray)} |
Output:
Original Array: [1 2 3 4 5] Copy Array: [1 2 3 4 5]
These are the three most common methods for copying an array into another array in Go. The copy function is the most efficient way to copy arrays, but the other methods can be useful in different scenarios.
