Channels in Go – Buffered, Unbuffered, and Select Statement

What is a Channel?

A channel is a typed conduit used to send and receive values between goroutines, enabling safe communication without explicit locks.

Unbuffered Channels

ch := make(chan int)

go func() {
    ch <- 42 // sends value, blocks until received
}()

value := <-ch // receives value
fmt.Println(value)

Buffered Channels

ch := make(chan int, 3) // capacity of 3
ch <- 1
ch <- 2
ch <- 3
// sending a 4th value would block until space is available

The select Statement

select lets a goroutine wait on multiple channel operations, proceeding with whichever is ready first.

select {
case msg1 := <-ch1:
    fmt.Println("Received:", msg1)
case msg2 := <-ch2:
    fmt.Println("Received:", msg2)
default:
    fmt.Println("No message ready")
}