String vs. []byte in Go: When to Use Which?

Understanding the Differences between String and []byte in Go

In Go, strings and []byte are distinct types, each with its own characteristics.

Type Conversion

Strings and []byte can be converted to each other:

• Converting a string to a []byte (e.g., []byte(s)) produces a slice of bytes representing the string's characters.
• Conversely, converting a []byte to a string (e.g., string(b)) produces a string from the slice's elements.

Read-Only vs. Modifiable

Strings are immutable, meaning they cannot be modified in place. Thus, strings offer the advantage of being thread-safe and suitable for sharing.

In contrast, slices of bytes ([]byte) are modifiable. This allows you to manipulate the individual bytes in the slice.

Efficiency Considerations

If you frequently need to convert strings to []byte (e.g., for writing to an io.Writer), storing the data as a []byte initially can improve efficiency.

Additionally, string constants exist, but slice constants do not. This difference can provide optimizations, particularly for constant strings that have a known length.

Choosing between String and []byte

The appropriate choice between string and []byte depends on the specific requirements:

• Use strings for immutable, read-only data that needs to be shared.
• Consider using []byte when you need to modify the bytes in the data or when you anticipate frequent string-to-[]byte conversions.

Example

In the example given:

bb := []byte{'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', 127}
ss := string(bb)
fmt.Println(ss)

The resulting output, "hello", illustrates how the 127 byte is not represented. This is because 127 does not have a visual representation on the specific platform or console.

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