db *sql.DB declared in a.go not available in b.go

Question

I have two .go files: a.go and b.go

I'm declaring a global db *sql.DB for my mysql database connection.

My goal is to declare db once and use it in all my package files, in this case b.go.

Everything builds fine, but I get an error when hitting my API endpoint /users

22:48:52 app         | 2015/05/18 22:48:52 http: panic serving 127.0.0.1:55742: runtime error: invalid memory address or nil pointer dereference
goroutine 6 [running]:
net/http.func·011()
    /usr/local/go/src/net/http/server.go:1130 +0xbb
database/sql.(*DB).conn(0x0, 0x4da104, 0x0, 0x0)
    /usr/local/go/src/database/sql/sql.go:634 +0x7ae
database/sql.(*DB).query(0x0, 0x809e70, 0x16, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x7, 0x0, 0x0)
    /usr/local/go/src/database/sql/sql.go:933 +0x43
database/sql.(*DB).Query(0x0, 0x809e70, 0x16, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
    /usr/local/go/src/database/sql/sql.go:924 +0xa6
main.GetUsers(0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/app/user.go:15 +0xc0
main.func·001(0xc2080424d0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/app/app.go:35 +0x1f
github.com/gin-gonic/gin.(*Context).Next(0xc2080424d0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/gin-gonic/gin/context.go:114 +0x95
github.com/gin-gonic/gin.func·006(0xc2080424d0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/gin-gonic/gin/logger.go:49 +0x68
github.com/gin-gonic/gin.(*Context).Next(0xc2080424d0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/gin-gonic/gin/context.go:114 +0x95
github.com/gin-gonic/gin.func·009(0x7f1123351408, 0xc208036280, 0xc2080328f0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/gin-gonic/gin/routergroup.go:57 +0xa3
github.com/julienschmidt/httprouter.(*Router).ServeHTTP(0xc20803af60, 0x7f1123351408, 0xc208036280, 0xc2080328f0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/julienschmidt/httprouter/router.go:299 +0x18e
github.com/gin-gonic/gin.(*Engine).ServeHTTP(0xc208042000, 0x7f1123351408, 0xc208036280, 0xc2080328f0)
    /var/www/zazok.com/api/src/github.com/gin-gonic/gin/gin.go:156 +0x4d
net/http.serverHandler.ServeHTTP(0xc208030120, 0x7f1123351408, 0xc208036280, 0xc2080328f0)
    /usr/local/go/src/net/http/server.go:1703 +0x19a
net/http.(*conn).serve(0xc2080361e0)
    /usr/local/go/src/net/http/server.go:1204 +0xb57
created by net/http.(*Server).Serve
    /usr/local/go/src/net/http/server.go:1751 +0x35e

a.go

package main

import (
    "database/sql"
    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
    _ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
)

var (
    prefix string = "/api/v1" // API prefix
    db     *sql.DB
)

// Boots up this whole thing
func main() {
    // Setting up DB
    db, err := sql.Open("mysql", "root:password@unix(/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock)/test.com?collation=utf8_general_ci")
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    defer db.Close()

    err = db.Ping()
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    r := gin.New()

    r.Use(gin.Logger())

    r.GET(prefix+"/users", func(c *gin.Context) {

        t := GetUsers()

        c.JSON(200, t)
    })

    r.Run(":3000")
}

b.go

package main

import (
    "log"
)

type User struct {
    Id          int    `json:"id"`
    Name        string `json:"name"`
}

func GetUsers() []User {
    a := []User{}

    _, err := db.Query("SELECT name FROM users")
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    return a
}

possible duplicate of Go global variable and short variable definition — Dave C
– Dave C, Commented May 19, 2015 at 12:11

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:27:58Z

3

EDIT: As pointed out by DaveC, the problem is that using := initiates a variable in the local scope only. Declaring err beforehand will cause the sql.Open to save the connection in the global instead of creating a new local, as follows:

func main() {
    var err error // <- Declare err

    // Use = instead of :=
    db, err = sql.Open("mysql", "root:password@unix(/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock)/test.com?collation=utf8_general_ci")
    ...

This edit influenced by DaveC, tomasz, and Ben Darnell (Ben Darnell's answer: Go global variable and short variable definition)

/EDIT

Personally, I prefer to avoid globals where possible. To do this, change GetUsers to take an argument *sql.DB. Then change your a.go to have a custom gin.HandlerFunc that is a database receiver. In the example I've created a tools struct that you could use to pass in many "global" things.

package main

import (
    "database/sql"

    "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
    _ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
)

var (
    prefix = "/api/v1" // API prefix
)

type tools struct {
    db *sql.DB
}

func (t tools) dispatch() gin.HandlerFunc {
    return func(c *gin.Context) {
        GetUsers(t.db)
    }
}

// Boots up this whole thing
func main() {
    // Setting up DB
    db, err := sql.Open("mysql", "root:password@unix(/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock)/test.com?collation=utf8_general_ci")

    if err != nil {
        panic("DB connection failed")
    }
    defer db.Close()

    t := tools{db}

    r := gin.New()

    r.Use(gin.Logger())

    r.GET(prefix+"/users", t.dispatch())

    r.Run(":3000")
}

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:27

CommunityBot

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answered May 19, 2015 at 4:09

vastlysuperiorman

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4 Comments

Dave C Over a year ago

and completely ignores the underlying cause…

vastlysuperiorman Over a year ago

@DaveC can you clarify? I personally find it favorable to use a struct to pass the data I need, rather than declaring globals. It is also very acceptable to create a custom handler func for http stuff. What is wrong with my answer?

Dave C Over a year ago

It ignores the fact that the OP's problem is due entirely to variable shadowing. Saying "it's better to avoid globals and pass values instead" is fine per-se but without even mentioning the shadowing problem it's more of a coment or workaround than an answer. At best it just defers the underlying issue until later when the OP really does want/need to use a global (or other case where shadowing often happens).

vastlysuperiorman Over a year ago

@DaveC This is a valid point. I'll edit my answer for posterity.

tomasz · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-19 10:11:04Z

3

I think this is a classic Go bug and it has nothing to do with using multiple files.

This statement:

db, err := sql.Open("mysql", ...)

declares new variable db in a main scope (note :=) and your global variable is untouched (nil).

You can easily fix it:

var err error
db, err = sql.Open("mysql", ...)

edited May 19, 2015 at 10:11

answered May 19, 2015 at 9:55

tomasz

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