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References

It's possible to define an empty pointer. For example, an empty pointer to an integer:

var p *int

fmt.Printf("value of p: %v\n", p)
// value of p: <nil>

Its zero value is nil, which means it doesn't point to any memory address. Empty pointers are also called "nil pointers".

Instead of starting with a nil pointer, it's common to use the & operator to get a pointer to its operand:

myString := "hello"      // myString is just a string
myStringPtr := &myString // myStringPtr is a pointer to myString's address

fmt.Printf("value of myStringPtr: %v\n", myStringPtr)
// value of myStringPtr: 0x140c050

Dereference

The * operator dereferences a pointer to get the original value.

*myStringPtr = "world"                              // set myString through the pointer
fmt.Printf("value of myString: %s\n", *myStringPtr) // read myString through the pointer
// value of myString: world

Unlike C, Go has no pointer arithmetic (which is covered in our Learn Memory Management course if you haven't taken it already).

Assignment

Complete the removeProfanity function.

It should use the strings.ReplaceAll function to replace all instances of the following words in the input message with asterisks.

Word	Replacement
fubb	****
shiz	****
witch	*****

It should update the value in the pointer and return nothing.

Do not alter the function signature.