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doc: add Slices: usage and internals article
Originally published on the Go blog on 5 Jan 2011: http://blog.golang.org/2011/01/go-slices-usage-and-internals.html R=golang-dev, gri CC=golang-dev https://golang.org/cl/5516046
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articles/error_handling.html\
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articles/slices_usage_and_internals.html\
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effective_go.html\
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go1.html\
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go_tutorial.html\
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<!-- Slices: usage and internals -->
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<!--
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DO NOT EDIT: created by
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tmpltohtml articles/slices_usage_and_internals.tmpl
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-->
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<p>
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Go's slice type provides a convenient and efficient means of working with
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sequences of typed data. Slices are analogous to arrays in other languages, but
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have some unusual properties. This article will look at what slices are and how
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they are used.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Arrays</b>
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</p>
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<p>
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The slice type is an abstraction built on top of Go's array type, and so to
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understand slices we must first understand arrays.
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</p>
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<p>
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An array type definition specifies a length and an element type. For example,
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the type <code>[4]int</code> represents an array of four integers. An array's
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size is fixed; its length is part of its type (<code>[4]int</code> and
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<code>[5]int</code> are distinct, incompatible types). Arrays can be indexed in
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the usual way, so the expression <code>s[n]</code> accesses the <i>n</i>th
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element:
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</p>
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<pre>
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var a [4]int
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a[0] = 1
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i := a[0]
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// i == 1
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</pre>
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<p>
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Arrays do not need to be initialized explicitly; the zero value of an array is
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a ready-to-use array whose elements are themselves zeroed:
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</p>
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<pre>
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// a[2] == 0, the zero value of the int type
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</pre>
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<p>
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The in-memory representation of <code>[4]int</code> is just four integer values laid out sequentially:
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</p>
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<p>
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<img src="slice-array.png">
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</p>
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<p>
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Go's arrays are values. An array variable denotes the entire array; it is not a
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pointer to the first array element (as would be the case in C). This means
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that when you assign or pass around an array value you will make a copy of its
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contents. (To avoid the copy you could pass a <i>pointer</i> to the array, but
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then that's a pointer to an array, not an array.) One way to think about arrays
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is as a sort of struct but with indexed rather than named fields: a fixed-size
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composite value.
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</p>
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<p>
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An array literal can be specified like so:
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</p>
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<pre>
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b := [2]string{"Penn", "Teller"}
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</pre>
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<p>
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Or, you can have the compiler count the array elements for you:
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</p>
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<pre>
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b := [...]string{"Penn", "Teller"}
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</pre>
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<p>
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In both cases, the type of <code>b</code> is <code>[2]string</code>.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Slices</b>
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</p>
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<p>
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Arrays have their place, but they're a bit inflexible, so you don't see them
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too often in Go code. Slices, though, are everywhere. They build on arrays to
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provide great power and convenience.
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</p>
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<p>
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The type specification for a slice is <code>[]T</code>, where <code>T</code> is
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the type of the elements of the slice. Unlike an array type, a slice type has
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no specified length.
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</p>
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<p>
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A slice literal is declared just like an array literal, except you leave out
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the element count:
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</p>
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<pre>
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letters := []string{"a", "b", "c", "d"}
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</pre>
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<p>
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A slice can be created with the built-in function called <code>make</code>,
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which has the signature,
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</p>
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<pre>
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func make([]T, len, cap) []T
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</pre>
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<p>
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where T stands for the element type of the slice to be created. The
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<code>make</code> function takes a type, a length, and an optional capacity.
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When called, <code>make</code> allocates an array and returns a slice that
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refers to that array.
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</p>
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<pre>
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var s []byte
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s = make([]byte, 5, 5)
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// s == []byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
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</pre>
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<p>
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When the capacity argument is omitted, it defaults to the specified length.
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Here's a more succinct version of the same code:
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</p>
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<pre>
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s := make([]byte, 5)
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</pre>
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<p>
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The length and capacity of a slice can be inspected using the built-in
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<code>len</code> and <code>cap</code> functions.
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</p>
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<pre>
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len(s) == 5
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cap(s) == 5
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</pre>
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<p>
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The next two sections discuss the relationship between length and capacity.
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</p>
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<p>
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The zero value of a slice is <code>nil</code>. The <code>len</code> and
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<code>cap</code> functions will both return 0 for a nil slice.
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</p>
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<p>
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A slice can also be formed by "slicing" an existing slice or array. Slicing is
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done by specifying a half-open range with two indices separated by a colon. For
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example, the expression <code>b[1:4]</code> creates a slice including elements
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1 through 3 of <code>b</code> (the indices of the resulting slice will be 0
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through 2).
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</p>
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<pre>
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b := []byte{'g', 'o', 'l', 'a', 'n', 'g'}
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// b[1:4] == []byte{'o', 'l', 'a'}, sharing the same storage as b
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</pre>
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<p>
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The start and end indices of a slice expression are optional; they default to zero and the slice's length respectively:
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</p>
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<pre>
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// b[:2] == []byte{'g', 'o'}
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// b[2:] == []byte{'l', 'a', 'n', 'g'}
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// b[:] == b
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</pre>
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<p>
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This is also the syntax to create a slice given an array:
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</p>
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<pre>
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x := [3]string{"Лайка", "Белка", "Стрелка"}
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s := x[:] // a slice referencing the storage of x
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</pre>
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<p>
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<b>Slice internals</b>
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</p>
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<p>
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A slice is a descriptor of an array segment. It consists of a pointer to the
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array, the length of the segment, and its capacity (the maximum length of the
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segment).
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</p>
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<p>
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<img src="slice-struct.png">
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</p>
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<p>
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Our variable <code>s</code>, created earlier by <code>make([]byte, 5)</code>,
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is structured like this:
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</p>
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<p>
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<img src="slice-1.png">
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</p>
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<p>
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The length is the number of elements referred to by the slice. The capacity is
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the number of elements in the underlying array (beginning at the element
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referred to by the slice pointer). The distinction between length and capacity
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will be made clear as we walk through the next few examples.
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</p>
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<p>
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As we slice <code>s</code>, observe the changes in the slice data structure and
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their relation to the underlying array:
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</p>
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<pre>
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s = s[2:4]
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</pre>
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<p>
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<img src="slice-2.png">
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</p>
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<p>
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Slicing does not copy the slice's data. It creates a new slice value that
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points to the original array. This makes slice operations as efficient as
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manipulating array indices. Therefore, modifying the <i>elements</i> (not the
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slice itself) of a re-slice modifies the elements of the original slice:
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</p>
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<pre>
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d := []byte{'r', 'o', 'a', 'd'}
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e := d[2:]
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// e == []byte{'a', 'd'}
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e[1] == 'm'
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// e == []byte{'a', 'm'}
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// d == []byte{'r', 'o', 'a', 'm'}
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</pre>
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<p>
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Earlier we sliced <code>s</code> to a length shorter than its capacity. We can
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grow s to its capacity by slicing it again:
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</p>
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<pre>
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s = s[:cap(s)]
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</pre>
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<p>
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<img src="slice-3.png">
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</p>
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<p>
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A slice cannot be grown beyond its capacity. Attempting to do so will cause a
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runtime panic, just as when indexing outside the bounds of a slice or array.
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Similarly, slices cannot be re-sliced below zero to access earlier elements in
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the array.
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</p>
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<p>
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<b>Growing slices (the copy and append functions)</b>
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</p>
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<p>
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To increase the capacity of a slice one must create a new, larger slice and
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copy the contents of the original slice into it. This technique is how dynamic
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array implementations from other languages work behind the scenes. The next
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example doubles the capacity of <code>s</code> by making a new slice,
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<code>t</code>, copying the contents of <code>s</code> into <code>t</code>, and
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then assigning the slice value <code>t</code> to <code>s</code>:
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</p>
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<pre>
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t := make([]byte, len(s), (cap(s)+1)*2) // +1 in case cap(s) == 0
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for i := range s {
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t[i] = s[i]
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}
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s = t
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</pre>
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<p>
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The looping piece of this common operation is made easier by the built-in copy
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function. As the name suggests, copy copies data from a source slice to a
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destination slice. It returns the number of elements copied.
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</p>
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<pre>
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func copy(dst, src []T) int
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</pre>
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<p>
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The <code>copy</code> function supports copying between slices of different
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lengths (it will copy only up to the smaller number of elements). In addition,
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<code>copy</code> can handle source and destination slices that share the same
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underlying array, handling overlapping slices correctly.
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</p>
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<p>
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Using <code>copy</code>, we can simplify the code snippet above:
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</p>
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<pre>
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t := make([]byte, len(s), (cap(s)+1)*2)
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copy(t, s)
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s = t
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</pre>
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<p>
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A common operation is to append data to the end of a slice. This function
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appends byte elements to a slice of bytes, growing the slice if necessary, and
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returns the updated slice value:
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</p>
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<pre><!--{{code "progs/slices.go" `/AppendByte/` `/STOP/`}}
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-->func AppendByte(slice []byte, data ...byte) []byte {
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m := len(slice)
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n := m + len(data)
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if n > cap(slice) { // if necessary, reallocate
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// allocate double what's needed, for future growth.
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newSlice := make([]byte, (n+1)*2)
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copy(newSlice, slice)
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slice = newSlice
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}
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slice = slice[0:n]
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copy(slice[m:n], data)
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return slice
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}</pre>
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|
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<p>
|
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One could use <code>AppendByte</code> like this:
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</p>
|
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|
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<pre>
|
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p := []byte{2, 3, 5}
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p = AppendByte(p, 7, 11, 13)
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// p == []byte{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13}
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</pre>
|
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|
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<p>
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Functions like <code>AppendByte</code> are useful because they offer complete
|
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control over the way the slice is grown. Depending on the characteristics of
|
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the program, it may be desirable to allocate in smaller or larger chunks, or to
|
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put a ceiling on the size of a reallocation.
|
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</p>
|
||||
|
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<p>
|
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But most programs don't need complete control, so Go provides a built-in
|
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<code>append</code> function that's good for most purposes; it has the
|
||||
signature
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
func append(s []T, x ...T) []T
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The <code>append</code> function appends the elements <code>x</code> to the end
|
||||
of the slice <code>s</code>, and grows the slice if a greater capacity is
|
||||
needed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
a := make([]int, 1)
|
||||
// a == []int{0}
|
||||
a = append(a, 1, 2, 3)
|
||||
// a == []int{0, 1, 2, 3}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
To append one slice to another, use <code>...</code> to expand the second
|
||||
argument to a list of arguments.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
a := []string{"John", "Paul"}
|
||||
b := []string{"George", "Ringo", "Pete"}
|
||||
a = append(a, b...) // equivalent to "append(a, b[0], b[1], b[2])"
|
||||
// a == []string{"John", "Paul", "George", "Ringo", "Pete"}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Since the zero value of a slice (<code>nil</code>) acts like a zero-length
|
||||
slice, you can declare a slice variable and then append to it in a loop:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><!--{{code "progs/slices.go" `/Filter/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
-->// Filter returns a new slice holding only
|
||||
// the elements of s that satisfy f()
|
||||
func Filter(s []int, fn func(int) bool) []int {
|
||||
var p []int // == nil
|
||||
for _, i := range s {
|
||||
if fn(i) {
|
||||
p = append(p, i)
|
||||
}
|
||||
}
|
||||
return p
|
||||
}</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>A possible "gotcha"</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
As mentioned earlier, re-slicing a slice doesn't make a copy of the underlying
|
||||
array. The full array will be kept in memory until it is no longer referenced.
|
||||
Occasionally this can cause the program to hold all the data in memory when
|
||||
only a small piece of it is needed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
For example, this <code>FindDigits</code> function loads a file into memory and
|
||||
searches it for the first group of consecutive numeric digits, returning them
|
||||
as a new slice.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><!--{{code "progs/slices.go" `/digit/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
-->var digitRegexp = regexp.MustCompile("[0-9]+")
|
||||
|
||||
func FindDigits(filename string) []byte {
|
||||
b, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
|
||||
return digitRegexp.Find(b)
|
||||
}</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
This code behaves as advertised, but the returned <code>[]byte</code> points
|
||||
into an array containing the entire file. Since the slice references the
|
||||
original array, as long as the slice is kept around the garbage collector can't
|
||||
release the array; the few useful bytes of the file keep the entire contents in
|
||||
memory.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
To fix this problem one can copy the interesting data to a new slice before
|
||||
returning it:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre><!--{{code "progs/slices.go" `/CopyDigits/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
-->func CopyDigits(filename string) []byte {
|
||||
b, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
|
||||
b = digitRegexp.Find(b)
|
||||
c := make([]byte, len(b))
|
||||
copy(c, b)
|
||||
return c
|
||||
}</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A more concise version of this function could be constructed by using
|
||||
<code>append</code>. This is left as an exercise for the reader.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Further Reading</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/effective_go.html">Effective Go</a> contains an
|
||||
in-depth treatment of <a href="/doc/effective_go.html#slices">slices</a>
|
||||
and <a href="/doc/effective_go.html#arrays">arrays</a>,
|
||||
and the Go <a href="/doc/go_spec.html">language specification</a>
|
||||
defines <a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Slice_types">slices</a> and their
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Length_and_capacity">associated</a>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Making_slices_maps_and_channels">helper</a>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Appending_and_copying_slices">functions</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
436
doc/articles/slices_usage_and_internals.tmpl
Normal file
436
doc/articles/slices_usage_and_internals.tmpl
Normal file
@ -0,0 +1,436 @@
|
||||
<!-- Slices: usage and internals -->
|
||||
{{donotedit}}
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Go's slice type provides a convenient and efficient means of working with
|
||||
sequences of typed data. Slices are analogous to arrays in other languages, but
|
||||
have some unusual properties. This article will look at what slices are and how
|
||||
they are used.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Arrays</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The slice type is an abstraction built on top of Go's array type, and so to
|
||||
understand slices we must first understand arrays.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
An array type definition specifies a length and an element type. For example,
|
||||
the type <code>[4]int</code> represents an array of four integers. An array's
|
||||
size is fixed; its length is part of its type (<code>[4]int</code> and
|
||||
<code>[5]int</code> are distinct, incompatible types). Arrays can be indexed in
|
||||
the usual way, so the expression <code>s[n]</code> accesses the <i>n</i>th
|
||||
element:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
var a [4]int
|
||||
a[0] = 1
|
||||
i := a[0]
|
||||
// i == 1
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Arrays do not need to be initialized explicitly; the zero value of an array is
|
||||
a ready-to-use array whose elements are themselves zeroed:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
// a[2] == 0, the zero value of the int type
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The in-memory representation of <code>[4]int</code> is just four integer values laid out sequentially:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<img src="slice-array.png">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Go's arrays are values. An array variable denotes the entire array; it is not a
|
||||
pointer to the first array element (as would be the case in C). This means
|
||||
that when you assign or pass around an array value you will make a copy of its
|
||||
contents. (To avoid the copy you could pass a <i>pointer</i> to the array, but
|
||||
then that's a pointer to an array, not an array.) One way to think about arrays
|
||||
is as a sort of struct but with indexed rather than named fields: a fixed-size
|
||||
composite value.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
An array literal can be specified like so:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
b := [2]string{"Penn", "Teller"}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Or, you can have the compiler count the array elements for you:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
b := [...]string{"Penn", "Teller"}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
In both cases, the type of <code>b</code> is <code>[2]string</code>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Slices</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Arrays have their place, but they're a bit inflexible, so you don't see them
|
||||
too often in Go code. Slices, though, are everywhere. They build on arrays to
|
||||
provide great power and convenience.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The type specification for a slice is <code>[]T</code>, where <code>T</code> is
|
||||
the type of the elements of the slice. Unlike an array type, a slice type has
|
||||
no specified length.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A slice literal is declared just like an array literal, except you leave out
|
||||
the element count:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
letters := []string{"a", "b", "c", "d"}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A slice can be created with the built-in function called <code>make</code>,
|
||||
which has the signature,
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
func make([]T, len, cap) []T
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
where T stands for the element type of the slice to be created. The
|
||||
<code>make</code> function takes a type, a length, and an optional capacity.
|
||||
When called, <code>make</code> allocates an array and returns a slice that
|
||||
refers to that array.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
var s []byte
|
||||
s = make([]byte, 5, 5)
|
||||
// s == []byte{0, 0, 0, 0, 0}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
When the capacity argument is omitted, it defaults to the specified length.
|
||||
Here's a more succinct version of the same code:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
s := make([]byte, 5)
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The length and capacity of a slice can be inspected using the built-in
|
||||
<code>len</code> and <code>cap</code> functions.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
len(s) == 5
|
||||
cap(s) == 5
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The next two sections discuss the relationship between length and capacity.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The zero value of a slice is <code>nil</code>. The <code>len</code> and
|
||||
<code>cap</code> functions will both return 0 for a nil slice.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A slice can also be formed by "slicing" an existing slice or array. Slicing is
|
||||
done by specifying a half-open range with two indices separated by a colon. For
|
||||
example, the expression <code>b[1:4]</code> creates a slice including elements
|
||||
1 through 3 of <code>b</code> (the indices of the resulting slice will be 0
|
||||
through 2).
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
b := []byte{'g', 'o', 'l', 'a', 'n', 'g'}
|
||||
// b[1:4] == []byte{'o', 'l', 'a'}, sharing the same storage as b
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The start and end indices of a slice expression are optional; they default to zero and the slice's length respectively:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
// b[:2] == []byte{'g', 'o'}
|
||||
// b[2:] == []byte{'l', 'a', 'n', 'g'}
|
||||
// b[:] == b
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
This is also the syntax to create a slice given an array:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
x := [3]string{"Лайка", "Белка", "Стрелка"}
|
||||
s := x[:] // a slice referencing the storage of x
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Slice internals</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A slice is a descriptor of an array segment. It consists of a pointer to the
|
||||
array, the length of the segment, and its capacity (the maximum length of the
|
||||
segment).
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<img src="slice-struct.png">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Our variable <code>s</code>, created earlier by <code>make([]byte, 5)</code>,
|
||||
is structured like this:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<img src="slice-1.png">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The length is the number of elements referred to by the slice. The capacity is
|
||||
the number of elements in the underlying array (beginning at the element
|
||||
referred to by the slice pointer). The distinction between length and capacity
|
||||
will be made clear as we walk through the next few examples.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
As we slice <code>s</code>, observe the changes in the slice data structure and
|
||||
their relation to the underlying array:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
s = s[2:4]
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<img src="slice-2.png">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Slicing does not copy the slice's data. It creates a new slice value that
|
||||
points to the original array. This makes slice operations as efficient as
|
||||
manipulating array indices. Therefore, modifying the <i>elements</i> (not the
|
||||
slice itself) of a re-slice modifies the elements of the original slice:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
d := []byte{'r', 'o', 'a', 'd'}
|
||||
e := d[2:]
|
||||
// e == []byte{'a', 'd'}
|
||||
e[1] == 'm'
|
||||
// e == []byte{'a', 'm'}
|
||||
// d == []byte{'r', 'o', 'a', 'm'}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Earlier we sliced <code>s</code> to a length shorter than its capacity. We can
|
||||
grow s to its capacity by slicing it again:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
s = s[:cap(s)]
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<img src="slice-3.png">
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A slice cannot be grown beyond its capacity. Attempting to do so will cause a
|
||||
runtime panic, just as when indexing outside the bounds of a slice or array.
|
||||
Similarly, slices cannot be re-sliced below zero to access earlier elements in
|
||||
the array.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Growing slices (the copy and append functions)</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
To increase the capacity of a slice one must create a new, larger slice and
|
||||
copy the contents of the original slice into it. This technique is how dynamic
|
||||
array implementations from other languages work behind the scenes. The next
|
||||
example doubles the capacity of <code>s</code> by making a new slice,
|
||||
<code>t</code>, copying the contents of <code>s</code> into <code>t</code>, and
|
||||
then assigning the slice value <code>t</code> to <code>s</code>:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
t := make([]byte, len(s), (cap(s)+1)*2) // +1 in case cap(s) == 0
|
||||
for i := range s {
|
||||
t[i] = s[i]
|
||||
}
|
||||
s = t
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The looping piece of this common operation is made easier by the built-in copy
|
||||
function. As the name suggests, copy copies data from a source slice to a
|
||||
destination slice. It returns the number of elements copied.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
func copy(dst, src []T) int
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The <code>copy</code> function supports copying between slices of different
|
||||
lengths (it will copy only up to the smaller number of elements). In addition,
|
||||
<code>copy</code> can handle source and destination slices that share the same
|
||||
underlying array, handling overlapping slices correctly.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Using <code>copy</code>, we can simplify the code snippet above:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
t := make([]byte, len(s), (cap(s)+1)*2)
|
||||
copy(t, s)
|
||||
s = t
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A common operation is to append data to the end of a slice. This function
|
||||
appends byte elements to a slice of bytes, growing the slice if necessary, and
|
||||
returns the updated slice value:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
{{code "progs/slices.go" `/AppendByte/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
One could use <code>AppendByte</code> like this:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
p := []byte{2, 3, 5}
|
||||
p = AppendByte(p, 7, 11, 13)
|
||||
// p == []byte{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Functions like <code>AppendByte</code> are useful because they offer complete
|
||||
control over the way the slice is grown. Depending on the characteristics of
|
||||
the program, it may be desirable to allocate in smaller or larger chunks, or to
|
||||
put a ceiling on the size of a reallocation.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
But most programs don't need complete control, so Go provides a built-in
|
||||
<code>append</code> function that's good for most purposes; it has the
|
||||
signature
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
func append(s []T, x ...T) []T
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
The <code>append</code> function appends the elements <code>x</code> to the end
|
||||
of the slice <code>s</code>, and grows the slice if a greater capacity is
|
||||
needed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
a := make([]int, 1)
|
||||
// a == []int{0}
|
||||
a = append(a, 1, 2, 3)
|
||||
// a == []int{0, 1, 2, 3}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
To append one slice to another, use <code>...</code> to expand the second
|
||||
argument to a list of arguments.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<pre>
|
||||
a := []string{"John", "Paul"}
|
||||
b := []string{"George", "Ringo", "Pete"}
|
||||
a = append(a, b...) // equivalent to "append(a, b[0], b[1], b[2])"
|
||||
// a == []string{"John", "Paul", "George", "Ringo", "Pete"}
|
||||
</pre>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
Since the zero value of a slice (<code>nil</code>) acts like a zero-length
|
||||
slice, you can declare a slice variable and then append to it in a loop:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
{{code "progs/slices.go" `/Filter/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>A possible "gotcha"</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
As mentioned earlier, re-slicing a slice doesn't make a copy of the underlying
|
||||
array. The full array will be kept in memory until it is no longer referenced.
|
||||
Occasionally this can cause the program to hold all the data in memory when
|
||||
only a small piece of it is needed.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
For example, this <code>FindDigits</code> function loads a file into memory and
|
||||
searches it for the first group of consecutive numeric digits, returning them
|
||||
as a new slice.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
{{code "progs/slices.go" `/digit/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
This code behaves as advertised, but the returned <code>[]byte</code> points
|
||||
into an array containing the entire file. Since the slice references the
|
||||
original array, as long as the slice is kept around the garbage collector can't
|
||||
release the array; the few useful bytes of the file keep the entire contents in
|
||||
memory.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
To fix this problem one can copy the interesting data to a new slice before
|
||||
returning it:
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
{{code "progs/slices.go" `/CopyDigits/` `/STOP/`}}
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
A more concise version of this function could be constructed by using
|
||||
<code>append</code>. This is left as an exercise for the reader.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<b>Further Reading</b>
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
|
||||
<p>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/effective_go.html">Effective Go</a> contains an
|
||||
in-depth treatment of <a href="/doc/effective_go.html#slices">slices</a>
|
||||
and <a href="/doc/effective_go.html#arrays">arrays</a>,
|
||||
and the Go <a href="/doc/go_spec.html">language specification</a>
|
||||
defines <a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Slice_types">slices</a> and their
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Length_and_capacity">associated</a>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Making_slices_maps_and_channels">helper</a>
|
||||
<a href="/doc/go_spec.html#Appending_and_copying_slices">functions</a>.
|
||||
</p>
|
||||
@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ for i in \
|
||||
$effective_go \
|
||||
$error_handling \
|
||||
$go_tutorial \
|
||||
slices.go \
|
||||
go1.go \
|
||||
; do
|
||||
$GC $i
|
||||
|
||||
55
doc/progs/slices.go
Normal file
55
doc/progs/slices.go
Normal file
@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
|
||||
package main
|
||||
|
||||
import (
|
||||
"io/ioutil"
|
||||
"regexp"
|
||||
)
|
||||
|
||||
func AppendByte(slice []byte, data ...byte) []byte {
|
||||
m := len(slice)
|
||||
n := m + len(data)
|
||||
if n > cap(slice) { // if necessary, reallocate
|
||||
// allocate double what's needed, for future growth.
|
||||
newSlice := make([]byte, (n+1)*2)
|
||||
copy(newSlice, slice)
|
||||
slice = newSlice
|
||||
}
|
||||
slice = slice[0:n]
|
||||
copy(slice[m:n], data)
|
||||
return slice
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
// STOP OMIT
|
||||
|
||||
// Filter returns a new slice holding only
|
||||
// the elements of s that satisfy f()
|
||||
func Filter(s []int, fn func(int) bool) []int {
|
||||
var p []int // == nil
|
||||
for _, i := range s {
|
||||
if fn(i) {
|
||||
p = append(p, i)
|
||||
}
|
||||
}
|
||||
return p
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
// STOP OMIT
|
||||
|
||||
var digitRegexp = regexp.MustCompile("[0-9]+")
|
||||
|
||||
func FindDigits(filename string) []byte {
|
||||
b, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
|
||||
return digitRegexp.Find(b)
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
// STOP OMIT
|
||||
|
||||
func CopyDigits(filename string) []byte {
|
||||
b, _ := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
|
||||
b = digitRegexp.Find(b)
|
||||
c := make([]byte, len(b))
|
||||
copy(c, b)
|
||||
return c
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
// STOP OMIT
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue
Block a user