bs := string(body) should be enough to give you a string.
From there, you can use it as a regular string.
A bit as in this thread:
var client http.Client
resp, err := client.Get(url)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer resp.Body.Close()
if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK {
bodyBytes, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
bodyString := string(bodyBytes)
log.Info(bodyString)
}
See also GoByExample.
As commented below (and in zzn's answer), this is a conversion (see spec).
See "How expensive is []byte(string)?" (reverse problem, but the same conclusion apply) where zzzz mentioned:
Some conversions are the same as a cast, like
uint(myIntvar), which just reinterprets the bits in place.
Sonia adds:
Making a string out of a byte slice, definitely involves allocating the string on the heap. The immutability property forces this.
Sometimes you can optimize by doing as much work as possible with []byte and then creating a string at the end. Thebytes.Buffertype is often useful.