CodeToLive

Introduction to Go

Go, also known as Golang, is a statically typed, compiled programming language developed by Google. It is designed for simplicity, efficiency, and concurrency. Go is widely used for building scalable and high-performance applications, including web servers, microservices, and cloud-native applications.

Key Features of Go:

Setting Up Go

To get started with Go, download and install it from the official website: https://golang.org/dl/.

Verify the installation by running the following command in your terminal: 


go version

Example: Hello World in Go


// Go Hello World Program
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}

This program declares a main package and uses the fmt package to print "Hello, World!" to the console.

Go Modules

Go modules are used to manage dependencies in Go projects. To initialize a new module, run: 


go mod init mymodule

This creates a go.mod file that tracks your project's dependencies.

Concurrency in Go

Go's concurrency model is based on goroutines and channels. Goroutines are lightweight threads, and channels are used to communicate between them. 


package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
)

func printNumbers() {
    for i := 1; i <= 5; i++ {
        fmt.Println(i)
        time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
    }
}

func main() {
    go printNumbers() // Start a goroutine
    go printNumbers() // Start another goroutine

    // Wait for goroutines to finish
    time.Sleep(3 * time.Second)
}

Channels

Channels are used to send and receive data between goroutines. They ensure safe communication and synchronization. 


package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
)

func sendData(ch chan string) {
    ch <- "Hello from goroutine"
}

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

    go sendData(ch)

    msg := <-ch
    fmt.Println(msg)
}

Practical Use Cases

Go is widely used in the following areas:

Next: Variables and Data Types