What is GoLang?

Google's GoLang, shortened as Go is an open-source programming language that was created in 2009. It is intended for efficient, concurrent, and scalable system programming with an emphasis on simplicity and usability. Go is a popular choice for building networked and distributed systems, web applications, and other types of software because it has strong typing, garbage collection, and syntax similar to C.

GoLang History 

Google first unveiled Go programming language in 2009. It was introduced as a language that could address some of the challenges associated with large-scale distributed systems while remaining easy to use and efficiently driving the development of Go.

The language was developed by three Google engineers: Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. Go's first public release was in March 2012, and it has since grown in popularity among developers due to its simplicity, concurrency, and performance. Today, companies like Google, Uber, Dropbox, and many others use Go to build high-performance, scalable, and reliable software systems, making it one of the fastest-growing programming languages.

Why GoLang?

There are several reasons why GoLang should be used to build a program. First and foremost, Go is intended to be fast and efficient and unlike an interpreted language, it has a compiler that generates native machine code and a garbage collector that manages memory automatically, eliminating the need for manual memory management.

Second, Go has built-in concurrency support, allowing developers to easily write programs that can run multiple tasks or processes at the same time. As a result, Go is an excellent choice for developing high-performance, parallel systems, for example, web servers or networked services.

Furthermore, Go has a simple and concise syntax, making it simple to learn and read. It has an expanding library of open-source packages and tools that can assist developers in developing a wide range of applications.

Finally, Go is supported by a large and active developer community that contributes to the language and helps ensure its ongoing software development and improvement. As a result, Go is an excellent choice for developing efficient, scalable, and dependable software systems.

What Does a GoLang Developer Do? 

A GoLang developer is responsible for developing software applications and systems using the Go programming language. They work on designing, coding, testing, and maintaining. They design, code, test, and maintain a Go-based program, as well as debug and troubleshoot problems that arise. GoLang programmers also work on web applications, cloud services, network tools, and various types of software infrastructure. 

Here are some other job duties that a Go programming language developer may have:

• Creating various applications.
• Writing code that is clean, maintainable, and efficient.
• Identifying and resolving problems in collaboration with a cross-functional Go team.
• Creating and maintaining software application documentation.
• Creating and managing automated test suites with Go and other languages.
• Debugging and troubleshooting software problems.
• Keeping up with the most recent Go programming language developments and trends.
• Developing scalable, high-performance software applications.
• Application deployment and maintenance in production environments.

How to Become a GoLang Developer? 

Although Go is primarily intended for system programming, it has grown in popularity recently as a language for web development, machine learning, and other language-intensive applications. To become a GoLang developer, you can follow these general steps:

Learn the Basics of Computer Programming

Before diving into GoLang, it's critical to have a solid foundation in computer programming. You can begin by studying programming fundamentals such as data types, algorithms, and data structures.

Learn Go Programming Language

Read the official Go documentation, which includes a tutorial and several guides. Online courses, books, and coding exercises are some other resources for learning GoLang. Find courses on Coursera, Udemy, Codecademy, or other online learning platforms. Learn to work and improve source files and generic functions. Learn about binary sizes, google services, and learn to integrate them into your code.

Practice Writing Go Code

The best way to learn Golang is to write code. You can begin by tackling small problems or developing simple applications. Working through coding exercises on sites like HackerRank or LeetCode is one way to practice the Go programming language. Learn about sense and other Go packages. Finally, start Building personal projects or contributing to an open-source project is another way to practice.

Contribute to Open-Source Projects

If a developer contributes to open-source projects, it is a great way to hone your GoLang skills while also expanding your portfolio. Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Docker are some popular open-source GoLang projects. An open-source Go project can be found on GitHub or by searching online for GoLang projects that are looking for contributors.

Build a Portfolio

Creating a portfolio of your GoLang projects can help potential employers see your skills. A personal Go project, contributions to open-source projects, and any relevant work experience can all be included in your portfolio. To become a better GoLang programmer, you can create a personal website or a GitHub profile to showcase your work.

Apply for GoLang Developer Jobs

You can begin applying for Golang developer jobs once you have a strong portfolio and Golang skills. Golang jobs can be found on online job boards such as Indeed or LinkedIn or by networking with others in the tech industry. Remember that some employers may require experience with other programming languages.

Stay Up-To-Date With Go Developments

Because GoLang is constantly evolving, it's critical to keep up with the latest developments and trends in the community. This can be accomplished by participating in developer communities, attending conferences, and following online forums. The official GoLang subreddit and the Go language Slack channel are two popular GoLang communities. These are very powerful, and the Google GoLang team keeps a keen eye on them for improvements in code; for example, after much anticipation from the Go community, generics were finally added to the language in the latest release.

Advantages of GoLang

There are several advantages of using GoLang:

• Go's efficient performance is due to its small memory footprint, quick compilation times, and ability to generate native machine code. As a result, it's ideal for creating high-performance applications like web servers or networked services that can handle a large volume of requests without slowing down.
• Concurrency is built into Go through Goroutines and channels, allowing developers to write programs that can run multiple tasks or processes simultaneously. This makes creating efficient and scalable systems simple without dealing with the complexities of manually managing threads or processes.
• Go has a simple and concise syntax that is simple to learn and read. The syntax is similar to C but has certain features like garbage collection and strong typing. This makes it an excellent choice for developers who are new to programming or want to write clean, maintainable code.
• Its strong and static type system aids in the prevention of common programming errors like null pointer dereferences and buffer overflows. This makes it an excellent choice for developing dependable and secure software, especially in industries such as finance and healthcare, where software errors can have serious consequences.
• Go has a large and active developer community that contributes to the language and provides a growing Go standard library of open-source packages and tools to help developers build a wide range of applications. Everything from web frameworks and database drivers to machine learning libraries and blockchain tools is included.

Installation of GoLang

Here are the general steps for installing GoLang:

1. Go to the official GoLang website and download the installer for your operating system. The downloads page will automatically detect your OS and provide the appropriate download link.
2. Next, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. The installer will guide you through installing GoLang on your system, including choosing an installation directory and setting environment variables.
3. Verify that GoLang programming language has been installed correctly by opening the terminal and running the following command: go version. This should display the version of Go language that you have installed.

After installing GoLang, you can begin writing and running Go programs with a text editor and GoLang's command-line tools. You can also use an integrated development environment (IDE) with the appropriate GoLang plugin, such as Visual Studio Code, GoLand, or Eclipse.

Components of the Golang Open-Source Programming Language

The components of GoLang are:

Compiler

GoLang's compiler compiles the Go source code into executable files that can be run on a specific platform or architecture. The Go compiler is fast and efficient, producing native machine code for the target platform.

Standard Library

GoLang includes a comprehensive standard library that includes packages for networking, I/O, text processing, cryptography, and much more. The standard library includes various useful tools and utilities developers can use to create their applications.

Runtime

Go programming language's runtime includes a garbage collector and a scheduler for managing Goroutines (concurrent functions) and channels (interprocess communication). The Go runtime is in charge of memory management and ensuring that Goroutines are executed in an efficient and predictable manner.

func main() {
    ch := make(chan int)

    go square(2, ch)
    go square(3, ch)
    go square(4, ch)

    fmt.Println("Hello World!")
    fmt.Println(<-ch)
    fmt.Println(<-ch)
    fmt.Println(<-ch)
}

func square(x int, ch chan int) {
    ch <- x * x
}

In this example, we create a channel ch and call the square() function in parallel using Goroutines. Each square() function call computes the square of a number and returns the result to the channel ch. The main function receives the channel results and prints them to the console.

Learn to simplify your programs and make your code modular using package main and import:

package main

import (

"fmt"

)

func main() {

x := 3

y := square(x)

fmt.Println("Hello World! The square of %d is %d\n", x, y)

}

func square(n int) int {

return n * n

}

Tools

GoLang programming language includes command-line tools for building, testing, and debugging Go programs. These tools include the Go command for managing Go packages and modules and the Go debugger for debugging Go programs.

Third-party packages 

Go has a large and growing ecosystem of third-party packages and libraries that can be used to extend the language's capabilities. These packages cover web development, machine learning, databases, and other topics.

These components work together to provide a powerful and flexible programming environment for building efficient, scalable, and reliable software systems.

Development Best Practices

Here are some common software development practices applicable in Go as well as other programming languages:

Write Tests

This open-source programming language has a built-in testing framework that makes writing tests for your code easy. Writing tests can help you catch bugs and ensure your code works as expected. The go test command can be used to run your tests.

Let's consider a basic function, Product, in a file called prod.go:

package math

func Product(x, y int) (ans int) {
return x * y
}

Writing tests in Go needs a link to a test file, which must always finish with test.go. So we will create a file named prodtest.go with the following code:

package math
import "testing"

func TestProduct(t *testing.T){
    ans := Product(5, 5)
    expected := 25

    if ans != expected {
        t.Errorf("got %q, expected %q", ans, expected)
    }
}

Now you can go to your project’s root directory and run your first test:

go test

Use Effective Naming Conventions

GoLang has a straightforward and consistent naming convention, with package and variable names in lowercase and public functions and types in uppercase. Effective naming conventions improve the readability and maintainability of your code.

Follow the GoLang Idioms

GoLang has its idioms and best practices for assisting developers in writing efficient and maintainable code. These idioms include using slices instead of arrays, using defer statements to manage resources, and discarding unused values with the blank identifier.

Use Static Code Analysis Tools

Static code analysis tools in the Go language can help you catch bugs and ensure that your code follows best practices. These tools include going vet, which checks for common coding errors, and golint, which checks for GoLang idiom adherence.

Follow the SOLID Principles

The SOLID software design principles (Single Responsibility, Open/Closed, Liskov Substitution, Interface Segregation, and Dependency Inversion) apply to GoLang development as they do to other programming languages. Following these guidelines can assist you in writing clean, modular, and maintainable code.