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Reflection in Go: Use cases and tutorial

Blog post from LogRocket

Post Details
Company
Date Published
Author
Shalitha Suranga
Word Count
1,882
Language
-
Hacker News Points
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Summary

Go is a statically-typed, compiled programming language known for its C-like syntax and features such as memory safety, garbage collection, concurrency, and performance, making it increasingly popular among modern developers. Unlike many languages that modify grammar, Go extends its standard library to provide essential features, including a robust reflection package. Reflection, a concept from metaprogramming, allows Go programmers to inspect and manipulate code structures during execution. This capability reduces the need for hardcoding and enables tasks like dynamic method execution and static code analysis. While reflection simplifies certain programming tasks, it can affect code readability and performance if overused. Practical examples in Go demonstrate using reflection to inspect variable types, values, and struct details, as well as dynamically call methods by name, showcasing its versatility yet also highlighting the importance of using it judiciously to maintain code clarity and efficiency.