Go Programming Language – What’s so Great About Go?

Why learn to develop with Go? You might have heard it’s a great language or that it’s used at Google and it’s the next big thing. 

Yet what you really need to know is that simplicity is what makes Go a great programming language.

Go is an open-source programming language that prioritizes dependability, efficiency, and simplicity.

Go was first released in 2012. To construct stable and effective software, Google engineers created the language Go. Now, Go is one of the top 10 significant languages used by professional developers, with a share of 7%, according to the Developer Ecosystem Survey 2020.

What is Golang?

Because of its former domain name, golang.org, it is frequently referred to as Golang, but its actual name is Go.

Most Go developers come from Python and Ruby rather than C++. Actually, Go borrows from other programming languages. For instance, Go incorporates C’s static typing and runtime effectiveness. It also has Python’s and JavaScript’s readability and usefulness.

Go was designed to combine the best aspects of different programming languages:

• Combined ease of use and cutting-edge productivity
• High-level efficiency
• Static typing
• Superior networking performance
• Full multi-core power use

What is the Golang used for?

Go has a wide range of uses including:

• Web Development: Golang builds web servers, web applications, and APIs. It also has support for HTML templating and CSS preprocessing.
• Mobile Apps: Golang develops mobile apps using frameworks like React Native or NativeScript.
• DevOps Tools: Go has built-in support for unit testing, code coverage analysis, benchmarking, and profiling. These features make it ideal for creating tools for DevOps teams.

Examples Where Go Can Be Used

A few examples of where to use Go are provided below. These seven Golang programs are listed.

• Services for Distributed Networks

Golang is useful for distributed networks because it can be easily customizable and it offers high performance. Go is ideally suited for creating network services like APIs, web servers, and small frameworks for web applications.

• Native Cloud Development

Go is an excellent language for cloud computing because of its ability to execute multiple tasks in parallel. They’re the the same as other programming languages and are highly portable across different platforms. In reality, Go was used to develop numerous innovative cloud platforms, including Kubernetes. Go is also used by Google Cloud to improve performance and scalability.

• Media Platforms

Go is used by Netflix, SoundCloud, and YouTube. It’s not surprising that these online platforms have opted to use Go because it can process large amounts of data and disseminate it to users.

• Request-Based Services

Users need quick, dependable service. Which is why Uber, which uses Go to reach users right in time for almost every request.

 Other Programming Languages vs. Go

Go is one of the languages developers love the best, according to the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. According to Go users, who rated their satisfaction at 62.3% in the 2020 developer poll, this is also the case.

The creators of Go have a well-documented dislike for C++ and have made a long list of simplifications through Go.

Go Vs. Python

• Go is a compiled language, similar to C. It has garbage collection and offers a lot of built-in functionality. Garbage collection is a process of cleaning up unused resources. It’s important because it frees programmers from manually managing the memory used by their applications. The garbage collector will automatically reclaim memory from objects no longer in use.
• Python is an interpreted language, which means it is slower than Go because it has to convert the code you write into machine code every time you run it.
• Python’s flexibility makes it difficult to optimize, but Go’s simple syntax, static typing, and lack of dynamic features make it easy to optimize. Hence, it tends to be faster than Python in practice.
• Go is also designed for concurrent programming, which means you can use multiple processors or cores simultaneously. Python does not have this feature.

Why is Go popular?

• Go is Fast

Go compiles quickly. The tools are distributed as a single binary, a collection of utilities bundled into a single executable file. You can download it from the web, put it on your hard drive, and then run it. The advantage of distributing as a single binary is that there’s no need for an installer or anything else. You download the file and run it. There are no external dependencies, so a Go program can be written and tested on one system and then moved to another without having to port dependent libraries. This makes Go an ideal language for writing simple scripts or building small tools.

• Easy Learning Curve

Go is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use language. It’s easy to pick up if you already know any other programming language, but it’s also great for beginners. There are no classes or inheritance, so you don’t have to worry about OOP concepts before you can start writing programs. There’s no need for semicolons or curly braces either! The Go team has written an excellent tutorial to get you started in minutes.

• Concurrency

Programs can run more efficiently when they run multiple tasks simultaneously on multiple cores or computers. The latest hardware advances can be incorporated into your design without requiring you to change your code or design.

• Get a lot Done with Go

 Go is fast, scalable, and lightweight. It’s also easy to learn, which makes it perfect for inexperienced developers.

• High-Performing Applications

Go’s performance comes from its simplicity. Programs written in Go are compiled ahead of time, eliminating some overheads needed for dynamic languages like Python or Ruby. This makes them faster at runtime than other languages such as Python or Ruby.

•  Golang Is Well-Scaled

 Go is well-scaled because it can be used to write small and large programs. You can use it for writing small scripts, or you can use it in more significant projects like Docker, Kubernetes, etc. It’s not easy but scalable enough to be used in many domains and scale up as needed.

Why Should You Learn Golang?

Want to be a frontend or backend developer? Golang is great for both! 

Learning a new programming language can be a daunting task. There are so many different languages to choose from, and each has its own rules, nuances, and quirks. If you’re looking for a way to learn the Go programming language, then Sololearn is a great place to start.