Go: What is the difference between make and new in Go?

make — allocates and initializes slices, maps, channels. new — allocates zeroed memory.

make:

• For slices, maps, channels only.
• Returns initialized (non-zeroed) value.
• Returns type itself (not pointer).

1// Slice
2s := make([]int, 0, 10)  // len=0, cap=10
3
4// Map
5m := make(map[string]int)
6
7// Channel
8ch := make(chan int, 10)

new:

• For any type.
• Returns pointer.
• Zeroed memory.

1// Allocates int, returns *int
2p := new(int)
3*p = 42
4
5// Allocates struct
6type Person struct { Name string }
7p := new(Person)
8p.Name = "Alice"  // Zero value: ""

Key differences:

• make — slices, maps, channels.
• new — any type, returns pointer.
• make — initializes.
• new — zeroes memory.