1. Introduction

This tutorial aims to provide you with an understanding of data structures in Go programming language and how to use them effectively. We will cover different data structures, including arrays, slices, maps, and structs, and discuss when and why to use each one. We will also delve into performance considerations and how to ensure your code is clean, efficient and follows best practices.

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

1. Understand the different data structures in Go and their uses
2. Learn how to choose the right data structure for a given problem
3. Know how to write efficient and clean code using Go data structures

This tutorial assumes you have a basic understanding of Go programming language. If you're a beginner, it's advisable to have a quick run-through of basic Go syntax and concepts first.

2. Step-by-Step Guide

Arrays and Slices

In Go, an array is a fixed-size collection of elements of the same type, while a slice is a dynamic-size collection. Use arrays when you know the size of the collection at compile time, and slices when the size might change at runtime.

var arr [5]int            // array of 5 integers
var sli = make([]int, 5)  // slice of integers with dynamic size

Remember, slices are more common in Go than arrays. They're flexible and provide built-in functions like append.

Maps

Maps in Go are used when you want to create a collection of key-value pairs. They're the closest to what other languages call a dictionary or hash map.

var m = make(map[string]int)
m["one"] = 1  // setting a value

Structs

Structs are used to group related data together. They're useful when you want to create more complex data types.

type Person struct {
    Name string
    Age int
}

3. Code Examples

Let's see some practical examples of using these data structures.

Example 1: Using a slice

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Initialize a slice
    x := []int{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13}

    fmt.Println(x)  // Prints: [2 3 5 7 11 13]

    // Append a value to the slice
    x = append(x, 17)

    fmt.Println(x)  // Prints: [2 3 5 7 11 13 17]
}

Example 2: Using a map

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    // Initialize a map
    m := map[string]int{
        "apple":  5,
        "banana": 8,
        "cherry": 15,
    }

    fmt.Println(m)  // Prints: map[apple:5 banana:8 cherry:15]

    // Add a new key-value pair
    m["date"] = 20

    fmt.Println(m)  // Prints: map[apple:5 banana:8 cherry:15 date:20]
}

4. Summary

We've covered the basic data structures in Go: arrays, slices, maps, and structs. We've learned when to use which and seen examples of each. While arrays and slices are used for ordered collections, maps are used for unordered key-value pairs, and structs for grouping related data.

For further learning, you can explore more complex data structures like linked lists, stacks, queues, and trees in Go.

5. Practice Exercises

1. Create a slice of strings representing a list of your favorite books. Add a book to the list and print the updated list.
2. Create a map where the keys represent different countries and the values represent the capital of each country. Add a new country-capital pair to the map and print the updated map.
3. Create a struct representing a student with fields for name, age, and grade. Create an instance of this struct, change one of the fields, and print the updated struct.

Remember, the more you practice, the more comfortable you'll get with these concepts. Happy coding!