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0 pointscowboysauce7y ago0 comments

No, interface {} is more like void pointers in C and C++ or Object in C# and Java. It can hold values of any type. One of the major selling points of actual generics is that they provide type safety, but interface {} doesn't provide that.

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jj27y ago

Go type assertions are quite safe on the other hand, unlike C type casts. The only thing generics will do is to avoid that extra assertion step and the bit of overhead that's involved in that. You could argue wether it will actually increase readability of your code.

pionar7y ago

Generics (when used/implemented correctly) provide way more than just elimination of type assertions. It provides compile-time type safety, rather than runtime safety. It also provides elimination of the overhead (which isn't trivial, reflection is not inconsequential) and boilerplate code. It also allows you to use the same function/method for many different types without having to resort to boxing everything to an interface/object.

eropple7y ago

Depending on the implementation, too, generics can be more friendly in other ways. C# emits code for both value types and reference types when appropriate and uses the correct paths as needed.

tapirl7y ago

unsafe.Pointer is the equivalent of C void pointer. interface{} is Any of Object in some other languages.

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