Should I Use Multiple Interfaces to Hide Struct Types in Go?

Using Multiple Interfaces in Golang

The quandary you face stems from your desire to conceal the underlying struct type while employing multiple interfaces.

In this instance, it's essential to remember that Go interfaces differ markedly from their counterparts in other languages. They serve as a polymorphic mechanism, enhancing versatility. Using interfaces as a mere mask for implementation details provides no genuine advantage.

Moreover, your pattern of "hiding implementation details" conflicts with the intended purpose of interfaces. In Go, exporting a struct with private fields effectively achieves encapsulation, rendering the interface redundant.

Passing pointers to structs, as you have done, is a preferred alternative to avoid ambiguity. Moreover, premature declarations of interfaces and return types can impair documentation and hinder client usage.

The Godoc utility generates well-organized documentation for exported types and their methods. However, wrapping a struct in an interface adversely affects this representation, making documentation harder to navigate and locate.

The standard library provides ample examples of how interfaces are appropriately utilized. Packages like net/http, io, crypto, and image demonstrate their intended usage.

In your specific case, the ideal solution is to export your Card struct and let clients program against it. This approach provides transparency, encapsulation, and maintains ease of documentation.

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