Buffered channels

A buffered channel is a special type of channel that holds a buffer that contains a number of items. Unlike a regular channel, a buffered channel doesn't block unless the following takes place:

• Its buffer is empty and we are trying to receive a value from the channel.
• Its buffer is full and we are trying to send a value to the channel.

To declare a buffered channel, we use the following syntax:

myBufferedChannel := make(chan int,10)

The preceding syntax creates a buffered channel that can hold 10 int values.

To send a value to the buffered channel, we use the same syntax as with regular channels. Each send operation adds one item to the buffer, as follows:

myBufferedChannel <- 10

To receive a value from a buffered channel, we utilize the same syntax as well. Each receive operation removes one item from the buffer, as follows:

x := <-myBufferedChannel

Let's take a look at the select statement construct in the next section.