What is an enum in Golang?
An enum, or enumerator, is a data type consisting of a set of named constant values. Enums are a powerful feature with a wide range of uses. However, in Golang, they’re implemented quite differently than most other programming languages. In Golang, we use a predeclared identifier, iota, and the enums are not strictly typed.
Syntax
A typical enum Direction with four possible values can be defined as:
type Direction int
const (
North Direction = iota
South
East
West
)
The iota is a built-in, predeclared identifier that represents successive untyped integer constants. Its value is the index of the respective ConstSpec in that constant declaration – it starts at zero.
Read more about
iotahere https://go.dev/ref/spec
Example
We declare a simple enum called Direction with four possible values: North, South, East, and West.
package mainimport "fmt"type Direction intconst (North Direction = iotaSouthEastWest)func main() {// Declaring a variable myDirection with type Directionvar myDirection DirectionmyDirection = Westif (myDirection == West) {fmt.Println("myDirection is West:", myDirection)}}
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