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Go Language - Comparing Arrays

In Go, arrays can be compared using the equality operator (==). This comparison checks if both arrays have the same length and elements in the same order.

Comparing Arrays Using == Operator

Go allows direct comparison of arrays using the == operator. Below is an example:

Example

package main
import "fmt"

func main() {
    arr1 := [3]int{1, 2, 3}
    arr2 := [3]int{1, 2, 3}
    arr3 := [3]int{4, 5, 6}

    fmt.Println("arr1 == arr2:", arr1 == arr2) // true
    fmt.Println("arr1 == arr3:", arr1 == arr3) // false
}

When executed, this program outputs:

arr1 == arr2: true
arr1 == arr3: false

Comparing Arrays Element by Element

If the array size is unknown or the arrays have different lengths, the == operator cannot be used directly. Instead, elements must be compared individually:

Example

package main
import "fmt"

func compareArrays(arr1, arr2 []int) bool {
    if len(arr1) != len(arr2) {
        return false
    }
    for i := range arr1 {
        if arr1[i] != arr2[i] {
            return false
        }
    }
    return true
}

func main() {
    arr1 := []int{1, 2, 3}
    arr2 := []int{1, 2, 3}
    arr3 := []int{4, 5, 6}

    fmt.Println("arr1 == arr2:", compareArrays(arr1, arr2)) // true
    fmt.Println("arr1 == arr3:", compareArrays(arr1, arr3)) // false
}

When executed, this program outputs:

arr1 == arr2: true
arr1 == arr3: false