Receiver vs. Parameter in Go Methods: What\'s the Real Difference?

Receiver vs. Parameter in Go Methods

In Go, understanding the concept of receivers and parameters is crucial when working with methods.

Method signatures often include a parameter declared as the method's receiver. This receiver is a special case of a parameter, despite its name.

What is a Receiver?

The receiver is a syntax feature that allows methods to be associated with specific types. In the example given:

func (p *Page) save() error

The p *Page is the receiver, indicating that the save method is attached to the *Page type.

Difference Between Receiver and Parameter

The receiver is not a traditional parameter in the sense that it does not need to be explicitly passed into the method. Instead, the receiver is automatically provided by the caller.

For example, to call the save method, you would write:

p := &Page{"My Page", "This is my page"}
p.save()

In this case, the p *Page variable is the receiver for the save method.

Syntactic Sugar

The use of a receiver is merely syntactic sugar. It allows methods to be attached to types in a convenient way. However, you can achieve the same result by declaring the receiver as a regular parameter:

func save(p *Page) error

Both declarations are equivalent and will produce the same result.

For further clarification, refer to the provided answer for additional explanation.

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