What is the difference between Go's buffered and unbuffered channels?

Go's channels are used for communication and synchronization between goroutines. Channels can be either buffered or unbuffered.

Unbuffered channels are also known as synchronous channels, meaning that the sender and receiver must be ready at the same time in order for the communication to occur. When a value is sent to an unbuffered channel, the sender blocks until the receiver receives the value. Similarly, when a value is received from an unbuffered channel, the receiver blocks until a value is sent.

Buffered channels, on the other hand, have a fixed capacity and can hold a certain number of values. When a value is sent to a buffered channel, the sender blocks only if the channel is full. When a value is received from a buffered channel, the receiver blocks only if the channel is empty.

In summary, the main difference between buffered and unbuffered channels is that buffered channels allow communication to occur even if the sender and receiver are not ready at the same time, whereas unbuffered channels require synchronous communication. However, using a buffered channel introduces the risk of the sender blocking if the channel is full, or the receiver blocking if the channel is empty.