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What is Golang Programming Language

What is Golang Programming Language

  • 06 Jun 2024
  • 27 Oct 2024
  • Programming Languages
What

Over the years, several programming languages have been developed and used in this world with the view to cater to certain difficulties or enhance some technicalities in the existing language. An example of a comparatively ‘young’ language is Golang, or Go, as it is commonly referred to. Google scientists Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer developed it. Let’s know a brief description of the features that the language possesses and so on.

Origins of Golang

The development of Golang was initiated due to dissatisfaction with currently existing programming languages and platforms applied by Google Company. The engineers discovered that although languages such as C++ and Java offered the ability to create complex programs due to their flexibility, considerable time had to be devoted to learning them to be able to create a program. What they also required was a language that had the operability of C++ but the ease of integration of Python. The outcome was Golang, a statically typed, compiled language aimed to be as efficient as C while being more readable than assembly. However, you should also know how to do mobile application development.

Key Features of Golang

  • Simplicity and Efficiency

Among the primary objectives that led to the development of Golang there was the idea of a programming language that is easy to use and performant at the same time. One of the main features of the Go programming language is easy syntax. So, everyone who decides to start programming will be able to do it without any problems as well as professionals. There is no inheritance, method overloading and pointer arithmetic because they are too complicated and can easily cause errors in the program.

  • Concurrency Support

Concurrency is relevant in our current processor environments with multiple cores. Golang has native support for threads through constructs called goroutines that are executed in parallel by the Go scheduler. Unlike typical threads, goroutines use less memory and system resources, which means you can launch a great many of them with little loss in overall performance. Want to know more? Learn about it more in the portfolio.

  • Fast Compilation

Another thing that stands out in the Go programming language is that any source code is compiled very quickly. While it lacks features compared to languages such as C++, Go compiles quickly, enabling developers to build their targets faster. This is especially helpful in large-scale projects, where multiple builds are required throughout the development lifecycle.

  • Garbage Collection

As a feature, Golang has a built-in garbage collector that frees the developer from concerns about allocating and deallocating memory. This implies that the developer does not have to allocate resources and then free them up constantly. It decreases the chances of memory leaks and other similar issues. It is important to understand that the garbage collector in Go is very non-intrusive.

  • Standard Library

This is an advantage for Golang because the language comes with a rich standard library that boasts various functionality. Ranging from implementing I/O operations string manipulation to networking and creating a web server, the standard Lib in Go is available for all of these. This makes it possible to avoid so much dependence on third party libraries and keep our code base standard and stable.

Why was Golang Created?

There were various reasons for the development of Golang by its creators. They wished to solve issues related to Google with other languages, like slow rate of compilation, intricate build procedures, and issues while managing dependencies. Their goal was to create a language that would be able to directly address the challenges of large-scale software development but remain as efficient to read, write, and work with as possible.

  • Scalability

The relatively recent development of Golang stems from the fact that one of the language’s most significant design goals was scalability. Google had some pressing needs, particularly dealing with huge amounts of data and large volumes of simultaneous requests, which traditional languages simply could not meet. Go with its concurrent programming using goroutines and channels, which offers a highly efficient yet highly simple solution.

  • Developer Productivity

The basic and optimized design and architecture of Go were also intended to increase the productivity of programming developers. The complexity of the language was reduced, and the compilation times were fast, which meant that the developers would spend more time writing code rather than fixing how the build process would work or deciphering complicated traits that a language with many features offered.

  • Maintainability

Scalability or maintainability is another feature of Golang. Since the language is quite straightforward, with a clean and delimited syntax, the code is easier to read and parse, especially for large groups of developers or for projects with extremely long development cycles. This goes a long way in conserving precious time and energy for the maintenance and updating of programs.

The Uses of Golang Today

  • Web Development

Web development has recently shifted its gears to Golang because of its efficiency and ease of work. Some of the packages provided by the standard library are for constructing web servers, processing HTTP requests, and the template engine. Tools such as Gin and Echo are frameworks that help build web apps fast and add various enhancements to the process. Know more about cloud hosting.

  • Cloud Services

Go is used in all the most important areas of cloud computing, especially in the construction of microservices and distributed systems. Another advantage is the flexibility of handling multiple requests, making it essential to construct easily scalable cloud services. Both Google and Google Cloud Platform, as well as Amazon Web Services, provide support for Go in developing cloud-native solutions.

  • DevOps and Automation

When it comes to DevOps and automation, Go benefits from incredible simplicity and reliability. Some of the important software tools used in the jobs like containerization, orchestration, and management of infrastructures are written in Go languages like Docker, Kubernetes, & Terraform. This places Go at the center of some of the most current practices in DevOps today.

Conclusion

Golang is a versatile and highly efficient language that adequately serves many problems in the world of development. Learn about several courses related to Golang. Statically typed, concurrent, with fast compile times, and having a solid standard library; it is suitable for building applications across a range of domains, including web and cloud platforms, networking tools, and DevOps applications.

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