Go: A 21st Century Programming Language

Overview

• Statically typed, compiled language.
• Often described as “C for the 21st century”.
• Popular for high-performance server-side applications.
• Used in tools like Docker, CockroachDB, and D-Graph.

History

• Created at Google in 2007 by key figures like Ken Thompson.
• Version 1.0 released as open source software in 2012.
• Designed for simplicity and efficiency.

Key Features

• Compilation:
  • Source code is compiled to machine code.
  • Generally outperforms interpreted languages.
  • Extremely fast compile times due to innovations in dependency analysis.
• Type System:
  • Statically typed.
  • Performs type inference for concise and practical syntax.
• Package and Module System:
  • Easy code import/export between projects.

Getting Started

• Installation:
  • Install Go.
  • Create a file ending in .go.
  • Add package main for standalone executables.
  • Declare a main function as the program entry point.
• Standard Library:
  • Core packages for math, networking, formatted I/O, etc.
  • Print to standard output using fmt.
  • Compile code using go build command.
• Dependencies:
  • Link to remote packages on GitHub.
  • Use go mod init for dependency tracking.

Syntax and Usage

• Variable Declaration:
  • Use var keyword followed by name and type, initialize with value.
  • Short assignment syntax for automatic type inference.
  • Support for multiple variable declarations in a single line.
• Standard Programming Constructs:
  • Arrays, maps, loops, control flow, etc.
  • Memory address storage using pointers.
  • Disallows pointer arithmetic for safety.
• Concurrency:
  • Supports concurrency with goroutines.
  • Functions that run simultaneously using multiple CPU threads.

Conclusion

• Efficient and concise language for modern software development.
• Check out more resources to delve deeper into Go.