Why Does My Go Compiler Flag Variables as Unused When They Are Clearly Used?

Compiler Flags Variable as Unused When It Is Being Used

In Go, one may encounter errors stating "declared and not used" even when the variables in question are clearly being utilized. This can be perplexing, but the solution often lies in understanding variable scope.

Such an error was encountered in the following function:

type Comparison struct {
        Left []byte
        Right []byte
        Name string
}

func img(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, c appengine.Context, u *user.User) {
  key := datastore.NewKey("Comparison", r.FormValue("id"), 0, nil)
  side := r.FormValue("side")
  comparison := new(Comparison)
  err := datastore.Get(c, key, comparison)
  check(err)

  if( side == "left"){
    m, _, err := image.Decode(bytes.NewBuffer(comparison.Left))
  } else {
    m, _, err := image.Decode(bytes.NewBuffer(comparison.Right))
  }
  check(err)

  w.Header().Set("Content-type", "image/jpeg")
  jpeg.Encode(w, m, nil)
}

The compiler flagged m and err as unused, despite their evident usage. The key to resolving this issue is to recognize that the variable m is scoped within the if statement. To use m outside of this scope, it must be declared at the function level.

The following revised code addresses this issue:

type Comparison struct {
        Left []byte
        Right []byte
        Name string
}

func img(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, c appengine.Context, u *user.User) {
  key := datastore.NewKey("Comparison", r.FormValue("id"), 0, nil)
  side := r.FormValue("side")
  comparison := new(Comparison)
  err := datastore.Get(c, key, comparison)
  check(err)

  // Note: m is now declared at the function level
  var m Image    
  if( side == "left"){
    m, _, err = image.Decode(bytes.NewBuffer(comparison.Left))
  } else {
    m, _, err = image.Decode(bytes.NewBuffer(comparison.Right))
  }
  check(err)

  w.Header().Set("Content-type", "image/jpeg")
  jpeg.Encode(w, m, nil)
}

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