What is the difference between Go's implicit and explicit type conversions?
In Go, type conversions are used to convert values from one type to another. Type conversions can be either implicit or explicit.
Implicit type conversions, also known as type coercion, happen automatically when the compiler can infer the correct type based on context. For example, if you assign an integer value to a float variable, the compiler will automatically convert the integer value to a float:
var x float64 = 3
In this example, the integer value **3**
is implicitly converted to a float value because the variable **x**
is declared as a float.
Explicit type conversions, also known as type casting, happen when you need to explicitly specify the target type. This is typically done when converting between incompatible types, such as converting a string to an integer or a float to an integer. For example:
var x float64 = 3.14
var y int = int(x)
In this example, the **float64**
value **3.14**
is explicitly converted to an **int**
value using the **int()**
type conversion function.
It's important to note that explicit type conversions can lead to unexpected behavior if the conversion is not possible or if it results in a loss of precision or information. Therefore, it's generally recommended to use implicit type conversions whenever possible, and to only use explicit type conversions when absolutely necessary.