Go In Plain Language: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding the Basics of Go Programming Language

Are you interested in learning a new programming language that is simple, efficient, and highly productive? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of Go, explaining its fundamentals in plain language. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned developer, this article will equip you with the knowledge you need to get started with Go programming! So, let's jump right in!

What is Go?

Go, also known as Golang, is an open-source programming language created at Google in 2007 by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. It was designed to address the growing complexity and scalability issues in software development.

Go combines the best features from various programming languages, including C, C++, Python, and more, to provide a simple yet powerful language for developing high-performance software. It emphasizes simplicity, readability, and ease of use, making it an excellent choice for both small and large-scale projects.

Go in Plain Language: Volume 3 - intro to Structs, Maps, Interfaces, Variadic Functions (Supplemental Exercises for Golang Students)

by Tony de Araujo(Kindle Edition)

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
Paperback	:	40 pages
Item Weight	:	2.26 ounces
Dimensions	:	5.83 x 0.1 x 8.27 inches
File size	:	1364 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	222 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

FREE

Why Choose Go?

1. Simplicity: Go has a clean and minimalistic syntax, which makes it easy to read and write. With its reduced set of keywords and a straightforward approach, developers can quickly grasp the language and become productive in a short amount of time.

2. Concurrency: Go has built-in support for concurrent programming, making it a great choice for developing highly scalable and efficient applications. Its goroutines and channels make it simple to write concurrent code without dealing with the complexities of low-level threading.

3. Performance: Go is designed to be fast. Its compilation process is incredibly efficient, allowing for quick build times and optimizations. Additionally, Go's garbage collector, language features, and standard library contribute to its overall performance.

4. Scalability: Whether you're building a simple command-line tool or a large-scale distributed system, Go can handle it. Its lightweight goroutines and scalability features make it an ideal choice for building concurrent and scalable applications.

5. Community and Ecosystem: Go has a vibrant and active community. With its widespread adoption and a wealth of libraries and tools available, developers can leverage existing resources to accelerate their development process. From web frameworks to networking libraries, Go's ecosystem is constantly evolving and improving.

Key Features of Go

Now let's take a closer look at some of the key features that make Go stand out:

1. Static Typing:

Go is statically typed, meaning that variable types are checked at compile-time. This allows for early detection of errors and better code reliability. However, Go also provides the convenience of type inference, reducing the need for excessive type annotations.

2. Garbage Collection:

Go incorporates a garbage collector (GC) that automatically manages the memory allocation and deallocation for you. This removes the burden of manual memory management, making Go programs safer and reducing the risk of memory leaks.

3. Package System:

Go's package system promotes modular and reusable code. Packages in Go are easy to create, import, and use, encouraging good software engineering practices. The standard library provides a wide range of packages for common tasks, reducing the need to reinvent the wheel.

4. Error Handling:

Go adopts a simple and explicit approach to error handling. Instead of relying on exceptions, Go uses return values to indicate errors. This promotes cleaner code and makes it easier to handle and propagate errors throughout the program.

5. Concurrency:

Go's built-in concurrency features, such as goroutines and channels, simplify the development of concurrent programs. Goroutines are lightweight threads that make it easy to write concurrent code, while channels facilitate communication and synchronization between goroutines.

Getting Started with Go

Now that you have an understanding of what Go is and why it is worth considering, let's dive into getting started with Go!

1. Installing Go:

The first step is to install the Go programming language on your machine. Go to the official Go website (https://golang.org) and download the installer for your operating system. Follow the installation instructions, and you'll be ready to go!

2. Setting up your Workspace:

Once Go is installed, you need to set up your workspace, which will be the location where you will store your Go code and projects. You can set the environment variable GOPATH to the desired directory where you want to store your Go workspace.

3. Writing Your First Program:

To get a feel for the Go programming language, let's write a simple "Hello, world!" program. Create a new file with a .go extension and open it in a text editor. Type the following code:

package main import "fmt" func main(){fmt.Println("Hello, world!") }

Save the file and navigate to the directory where you saved it using the terminal or command prompt. Run the following command to compile and execute the program:

go run <filename>.go

You should see the output "Hello, world!" printed on the screen. Congratulations! You've written and executed your first Go program.

Go is a powerful programming language that combines simplicity, efficiency, and productivity. Its clean syntax, built-in concurrency support, and strong community make it an excellent choice for software development. In this article, we covered the basics of Go programming in plain language, providing you with a solid foundation to start your journey with Go. So, what are you waiting for? Dive in and start exploring the vast possibilities of Go programming!

Go in Plain Language: Volume 3 - intro to Structs, Maps, Interfaces, Variadic Functions (Supplemental Exercises for Golang Students)

by Tony de Araujo(Kindle Edition)

5 out of 5

Language	:	English
Paperback	:	40 pages
Item Weight	:	2.26 ounces
Dimensions	:	5.83 x 0.1 x 8.27 inches
File size	:	1364 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Print length	:	222 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

FREE

This book is the bridge. You're about to cross the bridge from basic concepts in Go to a more advanced paradigm. Without knowing these concepts and thinking about them in a practical way, learning Go becomes almost impossible or very difficult at best.

Volume 3 offers fewer exercises than previous volumes. Time is invested on concepts in a spirally compelling rediscovery of what we thought we knew, but now we know more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
01- The blank identifier
02- Data types
03- Creating your own types
04- Data type Conversion
05- Checking for types
06- Pointers to memory addresses
07- If: Using declaration statements before condition
08- Switching with an implicit condition
09- Loops
9.1- A standard for loop
9.2- A for loop acting as a while false loop
9.3- A for loop acting as an until true loop
9.4- The Range for loop
9.5- Using a for range loop to iterate over a map
10- Deferring or delaying a statement in a function
10.1- What is defer?
10.2- Deferring can also be used to run a loop in reverse
10.3- Scope in deferring
11- STRUCTS
11.02- To capitalize or not capitalize a struct
11.03- No instantiating necessary in order to use a struct
11.04- Instantiating a blank struct type
11.05- Instantiating a struct type from a declared struct
11.06- Using the keyword new to instantiate a struct
11.07- Summary: Five different ways of instantiating struct
11.08- Creating an ALIAS to a struct using a pointer
11.09- Using METHODOS with structs
11.10- How to pass a type to a receiver by reference
11.11- A method without a receiver
11.12- Receiver functions accept both values and pointers as arguments
11.13- A method can be applied to many types
11.14- No method overloading and what to do about it
11.15- Embedding a struct in another struct –Type embedding
12- INTERFACES – Short as applied to structs
12.1-
12.2- How to declare an interface
12.3- Using a slice of type reader interface
12.4- Interface summary
13- The MAP data type
13.2- Declaring a map with make
13.3- Adding and editing map items
13.4- Deleting items from a map
13.5- Maps - Testing the presence of a key with a TUPLE assignment
13.5.1- Preamble – What we need to know to understand "testing"
13.5.2- Checking if a key exists
13.6- Maps: Using a for range loop to iterate over a map
14- INTERFACES as argument to functions
14.2- The empty interface type
14.2.1- Printing out the correct data with fmt.Print
14.2.2- Displaying the data type with %T
14.3- Type ASSERTIONS: Extracting the original type from an interface
14.3.1- Why we need type assertion
14.3.2- Further explanation
14.3.3- An assertion example
14.4- The COMMA, OK syntax and how it works
14.4.2- Comma, ok example
14.4.3- Resolving the ok variable
14.5- Using type assertion to branch from an interface parameter
14.5.1- Fixing the problem without using the comma,ok pattern
14.5.2- Using the comma, ok pattern to qualify the input type
14.5.3- The if v, ok := x.(int); ok { pattern
14.6- Type assertion switch
14.7- Using an assertion switch without value assignment
14.8- Review exercise: Using map as an argument
15- Variadic functions
15.1- Passing multiple arguments to a function
15.2- Selecting one argument from all arguments
15.3- Using a loop to print all arguments
15.4- Passing a slice into a variadic function
15.5- Checking the underlying type of arguments in variadic functions
15.6- Using assertions with a slice type on variadic functions
15.6.2- Unpacking the slice from within the empty interface
15.7- Using a variadic parameter of type string
15.8- How to mix other parameters with a variadic paran
15.9- The case for fmt.Print
16- How to input string data from the keyboard
16.2- Introducing OS and BUFIO
16.3- Streams and files
16.4- About NewReader
16.5- About os.Stdin
16.6- About ReadString
16.7- Using a NewReader for multiple input streams

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