Go Defer Defer Basics

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Example

A defer statement in Go is simply a function call marked to be executed at a later time. Defer statement is an ordinary function call prefixed by the keyword defer.

defer someFunction()

A deferred function is executed once the function that contains the defer statement returns. Actual call to the deferred function occurs when the enclosing function:

  • executes a return statement
  • falls off the end
  • panics

Example:

func main() {
    fmt.Println("First main statement")
    defer logExit("main") // position of defer statement here does not matter
    fmt.Println("Last main statement")
}

func logExit(name string) {
    fmt.Printf("Function %s returned\n", name)
}

Output:

First main statement
Last main statement
Function main returned

If a function has multiple deferred statements, they form a stack. The last defer is the first one to execute after the enclosing function returns, followed by subsequent calls to preceding defers in order (below example returns by causing a panic):

func main() {
    defer logNum(1)
    fmt.Println("First main statement")
    defer logNum(2)
    defer logNum(3)
    panic("panic occurred")
    fmt.Println("Last main statement") // not printed
    defer logNum(3) // not deferred since execution flow never reaches this line
}

func logNum(i int) {
    fmt.Printf("Num %d\n", i)
}

Output:

First main statement
Num 3
Num 2
Num 1
panic: panic occurred

goroutine 1 [running]:
....

Note that deferred functions have their arguments evaluated at the time defer executes:

func main() {
    i := 1
    defer logNum(i) // deferred function call: logNum(1)
    fmt.Println("First main statement")
    i++
    defer logNum(i) // deferred function call: logNum(2)
    defer logNum(i*i) // deferred function call: logNum(4)
    return // explicit return
}

func logNum(i int) {
    fmt.Printf("Num %d\n", i)
}

Output:

First main statement
Num 4
Num 2
Num 1

If a function has named return values, a deferred anonymous function within that function can access and update the returned value even after the function has returned:

func main() {
    fmt.Println(plusOne(1)) // 2
    return
}

func plusOne(i int) (result int) { // overkill! only for demonstration
    defer func() {result += 1}() // anonymous function must be called by adding ()

    // i is returned as result, which is updated by deferred function above
    // after execution of below return
    return i
}

Finally, a defer statement is generally used operations that often occur together. For example:

  • open and close a file
  • connect and disconnect
  • lock and unlock a mutex
  • mark a waitgroup as done (defer wg.Done())

This use ensures proper release of system resources irrespective of the flow of execution.

resp, err := http.Get(url)
if err != nil {
return err
}
defer resp.Body.Close() // Body will always get closed


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