title: Create global map variables
body: <p>I need a little help regarding creating a global map variable in Go. What I have done is as follows:</p>
  
  <pre><code>package ...
  import(
  ...
  )
  ...
  type ir_table struct{
      symbol      string
      value       string
  }
  var ir_MAP map[int]ir_table
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Since I am not initializing the map, I am getting a nil pointer dereference error. What must I do to use this variable globally? Or, if this is not a correct way to do this, please guide me.</p>