This is why you must learn GO (golang)
All the reasons to add GO (golang) in your developer repertoire and skillset.
Table of contents
Introduction
Before learning any programming language, one must know why it was made and what problems it solve. Otherwise one must not even consider learning it. The whole point some developers spent a huge part of their life making a programming language is because they wanted to solve and address some problems of other programming languages or add some new innovations and features to this new language which they think might help the developer community.
This is why instead of thinking that a new programming language is just a simple thing to create and it just offers a new syntax to write the same old for loops and functions is completely wrong. Take any programming language that is popular today, it solves a problem that developer community was facing or it added new innovation or features that were required.
Something to bear in mind is that 2-3 months is actually what it takes even for intermediate level - advanced programmers to learn the language and the toolkits and libraries and packages it offers. But basics can be learned in some weeks. So be patient while learning new stuff.
3 Things To Remember
Whenever you hear GoLang just think about these 3 things:
Fast : It is compiled language, its speed is blazing fast can be loosely compared with C++, C and Rust.
Simple : Simple syntax. Just nearly as simple as python but many times faster than python.
Concurrency : Most easy to achievable concurrency. Few keyword of code and done. Leverage the multiple cores and execute multiple tasks simultaneously.
Who Uses Go?
These are all the huge companies using Go right now. Because it is fast as hell, simple syntax, concurrency is handled easily. This makes Golang handle large amount of load on their website or app or other components and still remain fast and quick.
Why Use Go?
1. High-Performance Web Services:
Problem: Traditional languages\frameworks like Python (Django etc.), Javascript (Node.js, Express.js) can struggle with extremely high traffic on web applications. Response times become sluggish, impacting user experience.
GoLang to the Rescue: GoLang's compiled nature and concurrency features make it shine in building high-performance web services. It can handle large numbers of concurrent requests efficiently, keeping your application responsive even under heavy load.
Real-World Example: Companies like Uber, Netflix, and Dropbox all utilize GoLang for critical backend services that require exceptional performance and scalability.
2. Building Microservices Architectures:
Problem: Monolithic applications can become difficult to maintain as they grow. Microservices break them down into smaller, independent pieces, but communication and coordination between different microservices can be complex.
GoLang to the Rescue: GoLang's lightweight processes (goroutines) and communication channels (channels) simplify communication between microservices. This helps make development faster, maintenance easier, and improves the scalability.
Real-World Example: Companies like Google and Salesforce leverage GoLang to build microservices architectures that are easier to manage.
3. Command-Line Tools and DevOps Automation:
Problem: Managing complex server infrastructure often involves intricate scripts written in various languages. Maintaining consistency and efficiency can be challenging.
GoLang to the Rescue: GoLang's clean syntax and powerful standard library make it ideal for writing concise and efficient command-line tools. Additionally, its built-in concurrency features streamline automation tasks in DevOps pipelines.
Real-World Example: Many DevOps teams use GoLang to develop tools for automating infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
And there are many many more reasons.
The End
So rapidly most large tech companies are moving towards GoLang as their option for the specified reasons. This creates opportunity for us developers. So to stay relevant and sustain in the tech market GoLang is very solid skill to have. So start learning it now.
Thanks for reading 💖