# Deep Drive On Constants

If you wanted to find out whether `const` was a keyword, how would you do so?

```go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

const

func main() {
	fmt.Println("Hello, playground")
}

```

[The Go Programming Language Specification](https://golang.org/ref/spec) is a great place to start. The [Keywords](https://golang.org/ref/spec#Keywords) section holds the answer.

```
break        default      func         interface    select
case         defer        go           map          struct
chan         else         goto         package      switch
const        fallthrough  if           range        type
continue     for          import       return       var
```

Make a few constants using the [Go playground](https://play.golang.org/p/et5Qf-Crsu). The Go compiler will figure out what type they are for you.
```go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

const a = 42
const b = 42.78
const c = "James Bond"

func main() {
	fmt.Println(a)
	fmt.Println(b)
	fmt.Println(c)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", a)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", b)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", c)
}

```

An alternative way to declare several constants and assign values is using similar syntax to our `import` statement.

```go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

const (
	a = 42
	b = 42.78
	c = "James Bond"
)

func main() {
	fmt.Println(a)
	fmt.Println(b)
	fmt.Println(c)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", a)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", b)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", c)
}

```
[playground](https://play.golang.org/p/N3_-plSitG)  
  
If we want to specify the type of our constants, we can. Currently, they are untyped and are known as _constants of a kind_. That gives the compiler a bit of flexibility, because with constants of a kind, or constants which are untyped, the compiler decides which types to assign which values to. When it is typed, it doesn't have that flexibility.  
  
```go
package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

const (
	a int     = 42
	b float32 = 42.78
	c string  = "James Bond"
)

func main() {
	fmt.Println(a)
	fmt.Println(b)
	fmt.Println(c)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", a)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", b)
	fmt.Printf("%T\n", c)
}

```
[playground](https://play.golang.org/p/zs-UzDM_Q7)