Different meaning of * Sign in Go, based on situation

go-pointers.go

package main

import "fmt"

type person struct {
	name string
}

// the * denotes(indicate) a pointer to a value of the type that follows the *
// *person the func return pointer
func createPersonRef(name string) *person {
	
	// The & operator generates a pointer to its operand
	return &person{name}
}

func main() {
	// When you print a pointer to a struct with fmt.Println, it doesn't print the memory address 
	// (like it would for a pointer to an int or a string), but instead prints the struct's fields. 
	// This is because fmt.Println uses reflection to print values, and it treats pointers to structs as a special case.
	ref := createPersonRef("John")
	fmt.Println(ref)  // &{John}
	fmt.Println(&ref) // 0xc0000ae018
	fmt.Println(*ref) // {John}  the * is the dereference operator. It gives the value that the pointer points to.
}