Harder than scripting, but easier than programming in C

Programming Snapshot – Golang

© Lead Image © alphaspirit, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © alphaspirit, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 250/2021
Author(s):

Released back in 2012, Go flew under the radar for a long time until showcase projects such as Docker pushed its popularity. Today, Go has become the language of choice of many system programmers.

In 2012, Unix and C veterans Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson released the system-oriented programming language Go under the aegis of Google. For a long time it eked out a niche existence, before eventually becoming the industry standard for system-oriented programming. Today, observers of the Unix scene are rubbing their eyes in disbelief over the number of tools developed in Go.

To name a programming language after an everyday word such as Go seems like a pretty crazy idea from the viewpoint of a search engine operator. After all, search engines actually remove filler words such as "go" from incoming queries. So, when looking for Go programming tips, the recommendation is to search for "Golang" instead, which has also become the accepted name for the language in the community.

Quickly Installed

If you want to try Go, the easiest approach is to grab a package for your favorite distro. On Ubuntu, for example, type:

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Simultaneous Runners

    In the Go language, program parts that run simultaneously synchronize and communicate natively via channels. Mike Schilli whips up a parallel web fetcher to demonstrate the concept.

    more »
  • Rat Rac

    If program parts running in parallel keep interfering with each other, you may have a race condition. Mike Schilli shows how to instruct the Go compiler to detect these conditions and how to avoid them in the first place.

    more »
  • Fighting Chaos

    When functions generate legions of goroutines to do subtasks, the main program needs to keep track and retain control of ongoing activity. To do this, Mike Schilli recommends using a Context construct.

    more »
  • Motion Sensor

    Inotify lets applications subscribe to change notifications in the filesystem. Mike Schilli uses the cross-platform fsnotify library to instruct a Go program to detect what's happening.

    more »
  • Progress by Installments

    Desktop applications, websites, and even command-line tools routinely display progress bars to keep impatient users patient during time-consuming actions. Mike Schilli shows several programming approaches for handwritten tools.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus