What is the defer statement and how is it used?

The defer statement in Go: • Delays execution until surrounding function returns • Executes in LIFO order (last in, first out) • Commonly used for cleanup operations • Arguments evaluated immediately • Useful for resource management Example: func readFile() { file, err := os.Open("file.txt") if err != nil { return } defer file.Close() // Ensures file is closed // Read file operations }