Getting started with Go or Golang

9 min readJul 16, 2023

This article is a short overview of Go programming language and about its advantages & drawbacks in comparison with Java, NodeJS, and Python Programming languages etc.

Introduction

Go or Golang is a programming language created at Google, by Google developers and other programmers. This programming language is free and open-source and is currently being maintained by Google.
Go is a simple, fast, and concurrent programming language. Its simplicity in design makes it an amazing programming language to work with. Go is currently gaining a lot of popularity, and a lot of organizations now prefer to write their backend in Go.
The four important things a language must thrive to achieve are speed/efficiency, reliability, scale, and simplicity.
If we consider languages like C or C++, they are great at speed, scale, and reliability but in terms of simplicity, they are not so great.
Java on the other hand is very reliable and highly scalable, but moderately simple to write and not so efficient compared to other low-level languages. Python is a widely adopted language and very simple to write but not so efficient and reliable.
Go gives developers the experience of writing a scripting (interpreted) language like Python or JavaScript but at the same time, provides quirks of low-level compiled programming languages.

Why Golang

Performance

Go is extremely fast. The performance is similar to that of Java or C++.

Easy to learn and use

Go forces you to stick to the basics. This makes it very easy to read anyone’s code and immediately understand what’s going on.

Concurrency & Channels:

Go is known for its support for concurrency, which is the ability to run multiple tasks simultaneously.
Concurrency is achieved in Go through the use of Goroutines and Channels, which allow you to write code that can run multiple operations at the same time.
This makes Go an ideal choice for building high-performance and scalable network services, as well as for solving complex computational problems.

Some key features of Go

Simplicity: Go is designed to be easy to learn and use. Its syntax is simple and straightforward, making it a good choice for beginners and experienced programmers alike.
Concurrency: Go has built-in support for concurrency, allowing developers to write efficient and scalable code for multicore and distributed systems.
Garbage collection: Go has automatic memory management, which frees developers from having to worry about memory allocation and deallocation.
Fast compile times: Go has a fast compiler, which makes it easy to iterate quickly during development.
Cross-platform support: Go can be compiled to run on many different platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Strong typing: Go is a statically typed language, which helps catch errors at compile time rather than at runtime.
Go has a large and growing community of developers and is used by many well-known companies, including Google, Uber, and Dropbox.

Golang vs Python vs Java vs NodeJS

Go (also known as Golang), Python, Java & NodeJS are both popular programming languages, but they have different strengths and use cases. Let’s compare them in various aspects:

Performance:

Both Go and Java are compiled languages that offer good performance. However, Go is often considered faster than Java for certain use cases, especially in terms of startup time and concurrency.
Go’s lightweight goroutines and channels provide efficient concurrency handling, whereas Java’s concurrency is based on threads and locks, which can be more resource-intensive.
Python, on the other hand, is an interpreted language and generally slower than Go for CPU-intensive tasks.
Node.js, on the other hand, is built on the V8 JavaScript engine, which executes JavaScript code quickly. While Go generally performs better in CPU-intensive tasks, Node.js excels in handling asynchronous I/O operations, making it ideal for building scalable network applications.
Go provides efficient execution and is often used for high-performance systems and network applications.

Concurrency and Parallelism:

Python has support for concurrency as well as libraries like asyncio, but it doesn’t have native parallelism due to the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL), which restricts true parallel execution.
Node.js, being single-threaded, relies on an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model to achieve concurrency. It is well-suited for handling a large number of concurrent requests, making it popular for building scalable web applications.
Java also supports concurrency through threads and provides higher-level abstractions like thread pools and synchronized blocks, but it requires more explicit management.
Go’s concurrency model is simpler and more lightweight compared to Java’s threading model.
Go has built-in support for concurrent programming with goroutines and channels. It makes it easier to write concurrent code and handle thousands of concurrent connections efficiently.

Ease of Use and Developer Productivity:

Python is renowned for its simplicity and readability. It has a clean and expressive syntax, making it easy for beginners to learn and write code quickly.
Java is known for its verbosity, with a more explicit and ceremonial syntax. It requires more boilerplate code for common tasks compared to Go.
Node.js is built on JavaScript, a language known for its ease of use and widespread adoption. It has a large developer community and an extensive ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, making it easy to find resources and get support.
Go, although more verbose, has a clear and straightforward syntax that emphasizes simplicity and readability. It has a strong standard library and provides useful error messages, aiding developer productivity.

Ecosystem and Libraries:

Python has a mature ecosystem with a vast number of libraries and frameworks available for various purposes, such as web development (Django, Flask), scientific computing (NumPy, Pandas), machine learning (TensorFlow, PyTorch), and more.
Java has a mature and extensive ecosystem with a wide range of libraries and frameworks for various domains like web development (Spring, JavaEE), mobile development (Android), and enterprise applications.
Node.js has a large and vibrant ecosystem with a wide range of libraries and frameworks available, thanks to its popularity and JavaScript’s widespread adoption. It has libraries for web development (Express, Koa), database access (Mongoose, Sequelize), and more. Go’s ecosystem is growing but is relatively smaller compared to Node.js. It has libraries for web development (Gin, Echo), networking (net/http), database access (GORM), and other domains, but the selection might be more limited.
Go’s ecosystem is growing but is relatively smaller compared to others. It has libraries for web development (Gin, Echo), networking (net/http), and other domains, but the selection might be more limited.

Concurrency Safety:

Python doesn’t provide such built-in safety measures, and concurrent code needs to be handled carefully to avoid race conditions.
Node.js, being single-threaded, relies on asynchronous programming patterns, which can be challenging to handle correctly. Developers need to be careful in managing asynchronous callbacks and handling shared resources to avoid concurrency-related bugs.
Go has built-in mechanisms to handle concurrent programming safely, such as goroutines, channels, and a strict memory model. It helps developers write concurrent code without worrying about data races and other common concurrency issues.

Deployment and Execution:

Go compiles to a standalone binary, which makes it easy to deploy and distribute applications without any external dependencies.
Python, being an interpreted language, requires the presence of a Python interpreter on the target machine. However, tools like PyInstaller or Docker can bundle Python applications into executable packages.
Node.js applications, being JavaScript-based, require the presence of the Node.js runtime on the target machine. However, the availability of Node.js on various platforms and the use of package managers like npm simplify the deployment process.

Platform Compatibility:

Python & NodeJS programs can be written and run on a variety of operating systems, and can be used on a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Macintosh, Solaris, and others.
Java’s “write once, run anywhere” philosophy allows Java programs to run on any platform with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). This makes Java highly portable and widely adopted for cross-platform development.
Go, on the other hand, compiles to native machine code, resulting in a standalone binary. It offers good platform compatibility but requires separate compilation for each target platform.

Golang vs Java Memory Management:

Go uses a garbage collector for memory management, similar to Java. However, Go’s garbage collector is designed to provide low-latency garbage collection, making it suitable for real-time applications.
Java’s garbage collector has evolved over the years and offers different garbage collection strategies for different use cases.

Industry Adoption:

Java has a long-standing presence in the industry and is widely used for enterprise software, large-scale systems, and Android app development.
Go, while relatively younger, has gained popularity in recent years and is often preferred for building scalable and concurrent systems, microservices, networking applications, and cloud-based software.

Golang vs NodeJS Use Cases:

Go is often chosen for building network services, microservices, concurrent systems, and infrastructure-related software. It is suitable for situations that require high performance and efficient resource utilization.
Node.js is widely used for building web applications, RESTful APIs, real-time applications, and server-side development. Its asynchronous nature and event-driven model make it a popular choice for handling I/O-heavy workloads.

Ultimately, the choice between the programming languages depends on the specific use case, performance requirements, ecosystem needs, and personal preference.

Python is often favored for its ease of use, rich library ecosystem, and versatility, while Go is a great choice for performance-critical applications and building scalable systems with concurrent requirements.
Java’s extensive ecosystem and platform compatibility make it a solid choice for large-scale enterprise projects, while Go’s simplicity, concurrency support, and performance make it well-suited for building efficient and scalable systems.
Go is well-suited for high-performance systems and network applications, while Node.js excels in building scalable web applications and handling asynchronous I/O operations.

Advantages of Go Language

Flexible– It is concise, simple, and easy to read.
Concurrency– It allows multiple processes to run simultaneously and effectively.
Quick Outcome– Its compilation time is very fast.
Library- It provides a rich standard library.
Garbage collection– It is a key feature of Go. Go excels in giving a lot of control over memory allocation and has dramatically reduced latency in the most recent versions of the garbage collector.
It validates the interface and type embedding.
Concurrency: Go provides excellent support for concurrency, making it easy to write code that can run multiple tasks simultaneously. This is achieved through Goroutines and Channels, which allow you to write code that can run multiple operations at the same time.
Performance: Go is designed to be fast and efficient, with a focus on performance and low memory usage. This makes it well-suited for building high-performance network services, as well as for solving complex computational problems.
Simplicity: Go has a straightforward syntax and a simple type system, making it easy to learn and use, even for people with no prior programming experience.
Garbage Collection: Go has built-in garbage collection, which automatically manages memory for you. This eliminates the need for manual memory management, reducing the likelihood of memory leaks and other bugs that can arise from manual memory management.
Statically Typed: Go is a statically typed language, which means that types are determined at compile time. This provides stronger type safety and makes it easier to catch type-related bugs before they occur.

Disadvantages of Go Language

The packages distributed with this programming language is quite useful but Go is not so object-oriented in the conventional sense.
There is an absence of some libraries, especially a UI tool kit.
Limited Object-Oriented Features: Go does not have full-fledged object-oriented features like inheritance and polymorphism. This can make it more difficult to write complex programs, especially for developers who are used to traditional object-oriented languages.
No Generics: Go does not have built-in support for generics, which makes it difficult to write reusable code.
Immature Standard Library: Go’s standard library is relatively new and still maturing, which can make it difficult to find the tools you need for a particular task.

Some Applications developed in Go Language

Docker: a set of tools for deploying Linux containers
Openshift: a cloud computing platform as a service by Red Hat.
Kubernetes: The future of seamlessly automated deployment processes
Dropbox: migrated some of its critical components from Python to Go.
Netflix: for two parts of their server architecture.
InfluxDB: is an open-source time series database developed by InfluxData.
Golang: The language itself was written in Go.

Overall, GoLang is a powerful programming language that combines simplicity, performance, and concurrency support.
It is well-suited for building scalable, efficient, and reliable software systems, making it a popular choice for a wide range of applications, including web services, network servers, microservices, and command-line tools.

For basic golang program please refer my github repository https://github.com/hiteshmishra708/go-lang-examples

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