Go 1.26 (not yet released) will allow the `new` built-in to be called on expressions: https://antonz.org/accepted/new-expr/ Therefore, the following Go Protobuf example: ```go package main import ( "fmt" "google.golang.org/protobuf/proto" "google.golang.org/protobuf/types/descriptorpb" ) func main() { b, err := proto.Marshal(&descriptorpb.DescriptorProto{ Name: proto.String("hoi"), }) if err != nil { panic(err) } fmt.Printf("Protobuf wire format:\n% x\n", b) } ``` …can be changed to use `new("hoi")`: ```go package main import ( "fmt" "google.golang.org/protobuf/proto" "google.golang.org/protobuf/types/descriptorpb" ) func main() { b, err := proto.Marshal(&descriptorpb.DescriptorProto{ Name: new("hoi"), }) if err != nil { panic(err) } fmt.Printf("Protobuf wire format:\n% x\n", b) } ``` This means that the need for the helper functions in the `proto` package like `proto.String` is going away over time. We will not deprecate these functions because that causes unnecessary churn (and there’s nothing wrong with using the functions). We should probably update the examples to use the `new()` syntax throughout, but not sure at which point in time. Immediately after the Go 1.26 release would probably be a little bit early. I’m filing this issue for discussion. If there are any considerations with regards to how Go Protobuf should change with regards to the `new` built-in, please share them here.