How to create a multiline string in Go

A multiline string can be useful when you want to show the user of your app in a readable format. This article shows you how you can achieve multiline strings in Go

Strings in Go

Strings in Go is a variable-length of characters where each character is represented by one or more bytes of UTF-8 encoded data. It is read-only and immutable which means that you cannot change the value after it is assigned.

awesomeStr:= "My string";
awesomeStr[0] = 'S'; // Throws error from compiler

Creating multi-line string using raw string literals (Backtick)

We can make use of backtick and have it easy to read and write in code. All the indentation is also respected.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    str := `Documentation for the usage of the API

        *Param 1* - Useful for feature A
    *Param 2*- Useful for feature B

`
    fmt.Println(str)
}

Output

Documentation for the usage of the API

        *Param 1* - Useful for feature A
    *Param 2*- Useful for feature B

For more details on Go string literals - https://golang.org/ref/spec#String_literals

Creating multi-line string with \n characters

You can add \n character to the string variable to display the items in a new line. This method will work for simple cases but it makes the code messy and hard to read

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    
    multiline := "Documentation for the usage of the API\n\n*Param 1* - Useful for feature A\n*Param 2*- Useful for feature B"
    fmt.Println(multiline)
}

Output

Documentation for the usage of the API

*Param 1* - Useful for feature A
*Param 2*- Useful for feature B

String interpolation in Go

String interpolation in Go can be achieved using the printf method from the fmt package. Here are some examples of String interpolation in Go.

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    name:= "Student 1"
    total:= 426
    grade := 'B'
    avg := 8.325
    
    fmt.Printf("Name is %s\n", name)
    fmt.Printf("Total is %d\n", total)
    fmt.Printf("Grade is %c\n", grade)
    fmt.Printf("Average is %f\n", avg)
}

Table of string interpolation verb in Golang

Try out the string interpolation in Go using the codeshare link

https://www.jdoodle.com/embed/v0/4sKU

Summary

Stay tuned by subscribing to our mailing list and joining our Discord community

Discord