Address and dereference operators in Go - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the address operator (&) do in Go?

The address operator (&) gives the memory address of a variable. It lets you find where the variable is stored in memory.

beginner

What does the dereference operator (*) do in Go?

The dereference operator (*) lets you access or change the value stored at a memory address (pointer). It "follows" the pointer to the actual data.

beginner

Given: var x int = 10; p := &x; What is *p?

*p is 10, the value stored at the memory address p points to (which is x's value).

intermediate

How do you change the value of a variable using a pointer in Go?

Use the dereference operator (*) on the pointer to assign a new value. For example, *p = 20 changes the value at the address p points to.

intermediate

Why are address and dereference operators useful in Go?

They let you work directly with memory addresses, which helps with efficient data handling, sharing data without copying, and building complex data structures like linked lists.

What does the & operator do in Go?

A Returns the memory address of a variable

B Accesses the value at a pointer

C Declares a new variable

D Performs addition

The & operator returns the memory address of a variable.

What does *p mean if p is a pointer in Go?

A The value stored at the address p points to

B Creates a new pointer

C Declares a pointer variable

D The memory address stored in p

*p accesses the value stored at the memory address that p points to.

How do you get the address of variable x in Go?

A address(x)

B *x

C x&

D &x

Use &x to get the memory address of variable x.

If p := &x, what does *p = 5 do?

A Changes p to 5

B Changes x to 5

C Creates a new variable 5

D Causes an error

*p = 5 changes the value of x to 5 because p points to x.

Why use pointers in Go?

A To declare variables

B To copy data faster

C To access memory addresses directly

D To avoid using variables

Pointers let you access and manipulate memory addresses directly, which can improve efficiency.

Explain how the address (&) and dereference (*) operators work together in Go.

Think about how you find a house address and then enter the house to see what's inside.

Describe a simple example in Go where you use a pointer to change a variable's value.

Start with a number, get its address, then change the number through the pointer.