Go in 100 Seconds

Summary

Go, often referred to as a modern 'C for the 21st century,' is a statically typed, compiled language known for its simplicity, efficiency, and fast compile times. Created by Google in 2007 with contributions from computing legends like Ken Thompson, Go was released as open source in 2012. It excels in building high-performance server-side applications, with notable projects like Docker and CockroachDB under its belt. The language offers type inference for concise syntax, a robust package system for easy code reuse, and features like goroutines for effective concurrency. This brief overview highlights Go's essentials, from installation and basic syntax to its powerful standard library, encouraging viewers to dive into Go programming for their next project.

Takeaways

• 😀 Go is a statically typed, compiled language created at Google in 2007 by legendary programmers like Ken Thompson
• 👉 Described as 'C for the 21st century', it is optimized for performance, simplicity and efficiency
• 🏎 It compiles to machine code so it is very fast in execution compared to interpreted languages
• ⏱ But it is also famous for extremely fast compile times using advanced dependency analysis
• 🌐 Has inbuilt support for key things like math, networking, I/O channels needed for server-side apps
• 📦 Heavily used by infra companies to build tools like Docker, CockroachDB, Dgraph etc
• 🔢 Strongly typed but uses type inference to enable concise, practical syntax
• 📦 Easy dependency & package management enables code reusability across projects
• 🏃‍♂️ Supports concurrent execution using lightweight threads called goroutines
• 👍 Concise syntax like C++ but with memory safety and no pointer arithmetic

Q & A

What is Go and why is it compared to C?

Go is a statically typed, compiled programming language often described as 'C for the 21st century'. It's compared to C due to its efficiency and simplicity but with modern features like garbage collection, dynamic typing, safety, and concurrency.

Who created Go and when?

Go was created at Google in 2007 by developers including Ken Thompson, known for inventing the B and C programming languages. The first stable version, 1.0, was released as open source software in 2012.

What are some notable tools built with Go?

Notable tools built with Go include Docker, CockroachDB, and Dgraph, which are widely used in server-side applications for their high performance.

Why is Go considered to have fast compile times?

Go has extremely fast compile times due to innovations in dependency analysis, which streamline the compilation process compared to other languages.

How does Go handle type inference?

Although Go is statically typed, it performs type inference to allow for concise and practical syntax, reducing the verbosity typically associated with statically typed languages.

What is a Go module and its purpose?

A Go module is a collection of packages that are tracked together, enabling easy management of dependencies. It simplifies importing and exporting code between projects.

How does one start a new Go project?

To start a new Go project, install Go, create an empty directory, add a .go file with 'package main' at the top, declare a main function, and then use 'go build' to compile the executable.

What is the significance of the 'fmt' package in Go?

The 'fmt' package in Go is part of the standard library and is used for formatted I/O, such as printing lines to the standard output, making it essential for basic input and output operations.

How does Go enhance safety compared to C or C++?

Go enhances safety by disallowing pointer arithmetic, which is often a source of dangerous and unpredictable behavior in C or C++. This makes Go programs more secure and less prone to errors.

What are goroutines and how do they support concurrency?

Goroutines are functions that can run concurrently with other functions. They are lightweight and managed by the Go runtime, allowing efficient use of multiple CPU threads for parallelism.