Arithmetic operators in Go

Introduction

Arithmetic operators help you do math with numbers in your program. They let you add, subtract, multiply, and divide values easily.

Calculating the total price of items in a shopping cart.

Finding the difference between two dates or times.

Increasing a player's score in a game.

Splitting a bill evenly among friends.

Converting units, like inches to centimeters.

Syntax

Go

result := a + b  // addition
result := a - b  // subtraction
result := a * b  // multiplication
result := a / b  // division
result := a % b  // remainder (modulus)

Use + to add, - to subtract, * to multiply, / to divide, and % to get the remainder.

Division between integers gives an integer result (no decimals). Use float types for decimal division.

Examples

Adds 5 and 3, then prints 8.

Go

sum := 5 + 3
fmt.Println(sum)  // prints 8

Subtracts 4 from 10, then prints 6.

Go

diff := 10 - 4
fmt.Println(diff)  // prints 6

Multiplies 7 by 6, then prints 42.

Go

product := 7 * 6
fmt.Println(product)  // prints 42

Divides 20 by 3 giving 6 (integer division), and remainder 2.

Go

quotient := 20 / 3
fmt.Println(quotient)  // prints 6
remainder := 20 % 3
fmt.Println(remainder)  // prints 2

Sample Program

This program shows how to use all basic arithmetic operators with two numbers and prints the results.

Go

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    a := 15
    b := 4

    sum := a + b
    diff := a - b
    product := a * b
    quotient := a / b
    remainder := a % b

    fmt.Println("Sum:", sum)
    fmt.Println("Difference:", diff)
    fmt.Println("Product:", product)
    fmt.Println("Quotient:", quotient)
    fmt.Println("Remainder:", remainder)
}

Important Notes

Remember that dividing two integers results in an integer. To get a decimal result, convert numbers to float64 first.

The modulus operator % only works with integers in Go.

Summary

Arithmetic operators let you do basic math in Go.

Use +, -, *, /, and % for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and remainder.

Integer division drops decimals; use floats for precise division.