Methods

Value receivers

A method is a function with a receiver argument before the name.

type Counter struct{ N int }

func (c Counter) Value() int {
	return c.N
}

Pointer receivers

Use a pointer when the method should update the receiver or avoid copying.

func (c *Counter) Inc() {
	c.N++
}

c := Counter{}
c.Inc()
fmt.Println(c.Value())

Choose consistently

If any method needs a pointer receiver, often make related methods pointer receivers too.

Method habits

• Receivers are usually one or two letters from the type name
• Exported methods start with a capital letter
• Methods work with structs you define in the same package
• Interfaces (next) are satisfied implicitly by method sets