What is the difference between reflection and type assertion in Go?
- Reflection enables dynamic method invocation at runtime, while type assertion is used to determine the underlying type of an interface and access its value.
- Reflection is a feature in Go that allows inspection of types and values at runtime. It enables examining the metadata of a variable, such as its type, package, and kind. Type assertion, on the other hand, is a mechanism for converting an interface value to its underlying type. It is mainly used to access the concrete value stored in an interface.
- Reflection is a mechanism to check if an interface holds a specific type. It is primarily used to perform type checks at runtime. Type assertion, however, is a way to access the underlying concrete value stored in an interface.
- Reflection is only used to check the type of a variable, while type assertion is used to compare two different types in Go.
In Go, reflection allows you to inspect and manipulate variables and values at runtime, providing a way to introspect the type of variables and perform dynamic operations based on that information. Type assertion, on the other hand, is used to convert an interface value to its concrete type, allowing access to methods and fields specific to that type. Understanding the difference between these two concepts is crucial for effective use of runtime type information in Go.
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