Channel Buffering

This Go code illustrates the use of a buffered channel. Let's go through it with inline comments:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Creating a buffered channel named 'messages' with a capacity of 2
    messages := make(chan string, 2)

    // Sending two messages into the buffered channel
    messages <- "buffered"
    messages <- "channel"

    // Receiving and printing the messages from the buffered channel
    fmt.Println(<-messages)
    fmt.Println(<-messages)
}

Output

buffered
channel

Explanation:

1. package main: Indicates that this Go file belongs to the main executable package.

2. import "fmt": Imports the "fmt" package for formatting and printing.

3. func main() { ... }: The main function, where the execution of the program begins.

4. messages := make(chan string, 2): Creates a buffered channel named 'messages' with a capacity of 2. This means the channel can hold up to two values without the need for a corresponding receiver to be ready.

5. messages <- "buffered": Sends the string "buffered" into the buffered channel.

6. messages <- "channel": Sends the string "channel" into the buffered channel.

7. fmt.Println(<-messages): Receives and prints the first message from the buffered channel. Since the channel is buffered, the program does not block here, as there is room in the buffer.

8. fmt.Println(<-messages): Receives and prints the second message from the buffered channel. Again, there is no blocking since the channel has space due to its buffer capacity.

In summary, this code demonstrates the concept of a buffered channel. The channel is capable of holding multiple values up to its specified capacity, allowing sender goroutines to continue sending as long as there is available space in the buffer, and receiver goroutines can retrieve values without blocking as long as the buffer is not empty.