The zero value of a slice is not nil - go

Question

I was following the example https://tour.golang.org/moretypes/10
I modified the code expecting to get the same result. I did not. Is this a bug, or a documentation error? The tour states
A nil slice has a length and capacity of 0.
My y variable has a length and capacity of 0.
package main
import "fmt"
func myPrint(z []int) {
fmt.Println(z, len(z), cap(z))
if z == nil {
fmt.Println("nil!")
}
}
func main() {
var z []int
y := []int {}
myPrint(z)
myPrint(y)
}
Here is my output.
[] 0 0
nil!
[] 0 0
I was expecting a second "nil"~ Why didn't I get it?

Answer 1

nil Vs empty slice
If we think of a slice like this:
[pointer] [length] [capacity]
then:
nil slice: [nil][0][0]
empty slice: [addr][0][0] // it points to an address
From: "Go in action" book:
nil slice
They’re useful when you want to represent a slice that doesn’t exist, such as when an exception occurs in a function that returns a slice.
// Create a nil slice of integers.
var slice []int
empty slice
Empty slices are useful when you want to represent an empty collection, such as when a database query returns zero results.
// Use make to create an empty slice of integers.
slice := make([]int, 0)
// Use a slice literal to create an empty slice of integers.
slice := []int{}
👉 Regardless of whether you’re using a nil slice or an empty slice, the built-in functions append, len, and cap work the same.
Go playground example:
package main
import (
"fmt"
)
func main() {
var nil_slice []int
var empty_slice = []int{}
fmt.Println(nil_slice == nil, len(nil_slice), cap(nil_slice))
fmt.Println(empty_slice == nil, len(empty_slice), cap(empty_slice))
}
prints:
true 0 0
false 0 0

Answer 2

The doc you referenced states that a nil slice has a length and capacity of 0, but not that every slice of length and capacity of zero is a nil slice. The specification only says that the value of an uninitialized slice is nil.
This is a convenience to support len and cap on slices which are uninitialised (nil). Otherwise we would need to check for non-nil first in order to avoid panic. (This also holds for other in-built types like maps or channels.)
In terms of the fmt.Print output, the difference in behaviour is similar to printing an uninitialised (nil) pointer vs pointer to an empty structure:
var s *struct{} // uninitialised pointer
fmt.Println(s) // <nil>
s = &struct{}{} // pointer to an empty structure
fmt.Println(s) // &{}

Answer 3

In this case:
var z []int
You have declared a variable z but you did not initialize it.
In this case:
y := []int {}
You declared it and initialized it, you set it to an empty slice. Writing the second expression the long way makes the difference between the two expressions more clear:
var y []int = []int {}

Answer 4

Your y variable isn't the zero value for a slice. It's allocated via an empty slice literal.
// both of these allocate a slice
y := []int{}
z := []int{1, 2, 3}

Answer 5

A nil slice has a length and capacity of 0 and has no underlying array.
var s []string => no underlying array
var s = []string => create a underlying array but his length is 0.