Data Types in Go (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

Data types specify the type of data that a valid Go variable can hold. In Go language, the type is divided into four categories which are as follows:

1. Basic type: Numbers, strings, and booleans come under this category.
2. Aggregate type: Array and structs come under this category.
3. Reference type: Pointers, slices, maps, functions, and channels come under this category.
4. Interface type

Here, we will discuss Basic Data Types in the Go language. The Basic Data Types are further categorized into three subcategories which are:

• Numbers
• Booleans
• Strings

Numbers

In Go language, numbers are divided into three sub-categories that are:

• Integers: In Go language, both signed and unsigned integers are available in four different sizes as shown in the below table. The signed int is represented by int and the unsigned integer is represented by uint.
  • Possible arithmetic operations : Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, remainder

Example:

Go `

// Go program to illustrate // the use of integers package main import "fmt"

func main() {

// Using 8-bit unsigned int 
var X uint8 = 225
fmt.Println(X, X-3)

// Using 16-bit signed int 
var Y int16 = 32767
fmt.Println(Y+2, Y-2) 

}

`

Output:

225 222 -32767 32765

Example of arithmetic operations :

Go `

// Possible arithmetic operations for intigers // Author : Chhanda Saha

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {

var x int16 = 170
var y int16 = 83
//Addition
fmt.Printf(" addition :  %d + %d = %d\n ", x, y, x+y)
//Subtraction
fmt.Printf("subtraction : %d - %d = %d\n", x, y, x-y)
//Multiplication
fmt.Printf(" multiplication : %d * %d = %d\n", x, y, x*y)
//Division
fmt.Printf(" division : %d / %d = %d\n", x, y, x/y)
//Modulus
fmt.Printf(" remainder : %d %% %d = %d\n", x, y, x%y)

}

`

Output:

addition : 170 + 83 = 253 subtraction : 170 - 83 = 87 multiplication : 170 * 83 = 14110 division : 170 / 83 = 2 remainder : 170 % 83 = 4

• Floating-Point Numbers: In Go language, floating-point numbers are divided into two categories as shown in the below table.
  • Possible arithmetic operations : Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.
  • Three literal styles are available :
    * decimal (3.15)
    * exponential ( 12e18 or 3E10)
    * mixed (13.16e12)

Example:

Go `

// Go program to illustrate // the use of floating-point // numbers package main import "fmt"

func main() { a := 20.45 b := 34.89

// Subtraction of two 
// floating-point number
c := b-a

// Display the result 
fmt.Printf("Result is: %f", c)

// Display the type of c variable
fmt.Printf("\nThe type of c is : %T", c)  

}

`

Output:

Result is: 14.440000 The type of c is : float64

Example of arithmetic operations for floating point numbers :

Go `

// Possible arithmetic operations for float numbers // Author : Chhanda Saha package main

import "fmt"

func main() { var x float32 = 5.00 var y float32 = 2.25 //Addition fmt.Printf("addition : %g + %g = %g\n ", x, y, x+y) //Subtraction fmt.Printf("subtraction : %g - %g = %g\n", x, y, x-y) //Multiplication fmt.Printf("multiplication : %g * %g = %g\n", x, y, x*y) //Division fmt.Printf("division : %g / %g = %g\n", x, y, x/y)

}

`

Output:

addition : 5 + 2.25 = 7.25 subtraction : 5 - 2.25 = 2.75 multiplication : 5 * 2.25 = 11.25 division : 5 / 2.25 = 2.2222223

• Complex Numbers: The complex numbers are divided into two parts are shown in the below table. float32 and float64 are also part of these complex numbers. The in-built function creates a complex number from its imaginary and real part and in-built imaginary and real function extract those parts.
  • There are few built-in functions in complex numbers:
    * complex - make complex numbers from two floats.
    * real() - get real part of the input complex number as a float number.
    * imag() - get imaginary of the input complex number part as float number

Example:

Go `

// Go program to illustrate // the use of complex numbers package main import "fmt"

func main() {

var a complex128 = complex(6, 2) var b complex64 = complex(9, 2) fmt.Println(a) fmt.Println(b)

// Display the type fmt.Printf("The type of a is %T and "+ "the type of b is %T", a, b) }

`

Output:

(6+2i) (9+2i) The type of a is complex128 and the type of b is complex64

Built-in functions example :

Go `

// Built-in functions in complex numbers // Author : Chhanda Saha package main

import "fmt"

func main() { comp1 := complex(10, 11) // complex number init syntax comp2 := 13 + 33i fmt.Println("Complex number 1 is :", comp1) fmt.Println("Complex number 1 is :", comp2) // get real part realNum := real(comp1) fmt.Println("Real part of complex number 1:", realNum) // get imaginary part imaginary := imag(comp2) fmt.Println("Imaginary part of complex number 2:", imaginary)

}

`

Output:

Complex number 1 is : (10+11i) Complex number 1 is : (13+33i) Real part of complex number 1: 10 Imaginary part of complex number 2: 33

Booleans

The boolean data type represents only one bit of information either true or false. The values of type boolean are not converted implicitly or explicitly to any other type.

Example:

Go `

// Go program to illustrate // the use of booleans package main import "fmt"

func main() {

// variables

str1 := "GeeksforGeeks" str2:= "geeksForgeeks" str3:= "GeeksforGeeks" result1:= str1 == str2 result2:= str1 == str3

// Display the result fmt.Println( result1) fmt.Println( result2)

// Display the type of // result1 and result2 fmt.Printf("The type of result1 is %T and "+ "the type of result2 is %T", result1, result2)

}

`

Output:

false true The type of result1 is bool and the type of result2 is bool

Strings

The string data type represents a sequence of Unicode code points. Or in other words, we can say a string is a sequence of immutable bytes, means once a string is created you cannot change that string. A string may contain arbitrary data, including bytes with zero value in the human-readable form. Strings can be concatenated using plus(+) operator.

Example:

Go `

// Go program to illustrate // the use of strings package main import "fmt"

func main() {

// str variable which stores strings

str := "GeeksforGeeks"

// Display the length of the string fmt.Printf("Length of the string is:%d", len(str))

// Display the string fmt.Printf("\nString is: %s", str)

// Display the type of str variable fmt.Printf("\nType of str is: %T", str) }

`

Output:

Length of the string is:13 String is: GeeksforGeeks Type of str is: string

String concatenation example:

Go `

// String concatenation // Author : Chhanda Saha package main

import "fmt"

func main() { var str1 string = "STRING_" var str2 string = "Concatenation"

// Concatenating strings using + operator
fmt.Println("New string : ", str1+str2)

}

`

Output:

New string : STRING_Concatenation