Should I learn Go Lang?

Saturday. May 29, 2021 - 4 mins

tech go

I have spent many years in top tech companies working in C programming language. The C language is like a carving knife: simple, sharp, and extremely useful in skilled hands. Like any sharp tool, C can injure people who don’t know how to handle it.

I have seen countless bugs due to this programming language’s common mistakes & pitfalls. Not to mention I also had some nightmares whenever a major feature was released.

Once I was introduced to Golang. I was relieved and amazed at how simple this programming language is and how it has removed all those common mistakes & pitfalls.

Golang, or Go, is a popular programming language used by many top tech companies.

Some interesting concepts in Golang

Here I would like to introduce you to some of the most important features of the language, mainly:

Closures
Test code
Interface
Map
Package module
Defer
Functions as arguments
Methods
Pointers
Channel
Goroutines

Code Blocks

Channel

  messages := make(chan string)
  messages <- "ping"

Goroutines

  func f(input string) {
    
  }
  func main() {
      go f("goroutine")
  }

Closures

  func intSeq() func() int {
      i := 0
      return func() int {
          i++
          return i
      }
  }

Test code

  func IntMin(a, b int) int {
      if a < b {
          return a
      }
      return b
  }
  func TestIntMinBasic(t *testing.T) {
      ans := IntMin(2, -2)
      if ans != -2 {
          t.Errorf("IntMin(2, -2) = %d; want -2", ans)
      }
  }    

Interface

  type geometry interface {
      area() float64
      perim() float64
  }

Map or Dictionary

  m := make(map[string]int)
  m["k1"] = 7
  m["k2"] = 13

Package module

  File greetings.go
  package greetings
  import "fmt"
  func Hello(name string) string {
      return message
  }

Defer

  func main() {
      f := createFile("/tmp/defer.txt")
      defer closeFile(f)
      writeFile(f)
  }

Functions as arguments (1st class citizens)

  func makeHandler(fn func (http.ResponseWriter, *http.Request, string)) http.HandlerFunc {
      return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {

      }
  }

Methods

  type rect struct {
      width, height int
  }

  func (r *rect) area() int {
      return r.width * r.height
  }
  func (r rect) perim() int {
      return 2*r.width + 2*r.height
  }

Pointers

  func zeroptr(iptr *int) {
      *iptr = 0
  }

Conclusion

Coming back to the question “Should I learn Go Lang?” I recommend that one should learn what they plan to use. Go was made by Google and is primarily used in areas where Google needed a better language. That mostly means server programming. Go is a mainstream language for all backend programming.

Next Steps

Try the below resources, play with this language, and have fun.

Web Resources:

Satya Dillikar

Hands-on Software Architect with extensive experience developing and delivering distributed enterprise-class mission-critical software applications.

DISCLAIMER: All views expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated. Any collateral used is referenced in the Web Resources or others sections on this page. The information provided on this website does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice.