go - Why do I need to use http.StripPrefix to access my static files?

Question

main.go

package main

import (
    "net/http"
)

func main() {
    http.Handle("/static/", http.StripPrefix("/static/", http.FileServer(http.Dir("static"))))
    http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}

Directory structure:

%GOPATH%/src/project_name/main.go
%GOPATH%/src/project_name/static/..files and folders ..

Even after reading the documentation I have trouble understanding what exactly http.StripPrefix does here.

1) Why can't I access localhost:8080/static if I remove http.StripPrefix?

2) What URL maps to /static folder if I remove that function?

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/27945310/why-do-i-need-to-use-http-stripprefix-to-access-my-static-files

Answer 1

Waitting for answers