How to Write Effective Go: A Guide to Go Idioms

Introduction
Prerequisites
Setting Up Go
Writing Effective Go 1. Understanding the Basics 2. Working with Functions and Packages
Conclusion

Introduction

Go (or Golang) is a modern programming language known for its simplicity, efficiency, and scalability. It was designed to provide a pragmatic approach to the development of software systems. In this tutorial, we will explore the idiomatic ways of writing Go code to ensure that our programs are effective, readable, and maintainable.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a good grasp of Go idioms and be able to write efficient and elegant code using the Go programming language.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of programming concepts. Familiarity with any programming language will be helpful, but it is not necessary.

Setting Up Go

Before we dive into writing effective Go code, let’s set up Go on our system.

Download Go: Visit the official Go website at https://golang.org/dl and download the Go distribution for your operating system.
Install Go: Follow the installation instructions provided by the Go team for your operating system. Once the installation is complete, verify that Go is properly installed by opening a terminal or command prompt and running the following command:
```
```shell
go version
```

This should display the Go version you have installed.
```
Set Up Go Workspace: Go uses a workspace to organize its source code files and dependencies. Create a directory on your system where you want to set up your Go workspace. Typically, this directory is $HOME/go on Unix-based systems and %USERPROFILE%\go on Windows.
```
```shell
mkdir ~/go
```
```
Set Up PATH and GOPATH: Go requires you to set the GOPATH environment variable, which should point to the root of your Go workspace. Open your terminal profile configuration file (~/.bashrc, ~/.bash_profile, or ~/.zshrc) and add the following line:
```
```shell
export GOPATH=~/go
```

Save the file and then reload your terminal or run `source <file>` to apply the changes. Additionally, add the Go binaries directory to your `PATH` variable:

```shell
export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin
```

Again, save the file and reload your terminal.
```
Now that our Go environment is set up, let’s explore some idiomatic ways of writing effective Go code.

Writing Effective Go

Understanding the Basics

Go follows a strict set of idioms and coding guidelines to ensure readable and maintainable code. Let’s explore some of the basic Go idioms:

Package Names: Package names in Go should be short, concise, and lowercase. Avoid unnecessary abbreviations or acronyms unless they are widely known.
Variable Naming: Names of variables, functions, and types should be descriptive and use camelCase. Avoid using single-letter variable names except for common idiomatic cases like i, j, err, etc.
Error Handling: Go has built-in support for handling errors using the error interface. Always check and handle errors explicitly rather than ignoring them. Use multiple return values, where the last return value is an error, to provide error information.
Control Flow: Go uses braces {} for control flow statements, such as if, for, and switch. It is recommended to include braces even for single-line statements to enhance readability.
Commenting: Go supports both single-line (//) and multi-line (/* */) comments. Document your code with clear and concise comments to help others understand your code.

Working with Functions and Packages

Functions

Functions are an essential part of any programming language. Go provides some idiomatic ways to work with functions:

Avoid Naked Returns: While Go allows naked returns, where you don’t explicitly specify the return values, it’s often better to be explicit. Clearly state the return values at the beginning of the function to improve readability.
Named Return Values: Go allows you to name return values in the function signature. This provides clarity to the caller and helps in documenting the expected return values. However, use named return values judiciously and avoid their excessive use.
Defer Statement: The defer statement allows you to schedule a function call for later in the execution of a surrounding function or method. It is commonly used to guarantee the execution of cleanup or resource release operations.

#### Packages

Go encourages the use of packages for code organization and modularity. Here are some idiomatic practices for working with packages:
Package Import Paths: Import paths should be absolute paths from the $GOPATH/src directory. Avoid using relative import paths or unnecessary nesting of packages.
Package Naming: Package names should be concise and descriptive. Use lowercase letters and avoid using underscores or hyphens.
Public and Private: In Go, identifiers starting with an uppercase letter are exported and accessible from other packages. To keep identifiers private to a package, start them with a lowercase letter.
Dependency Management: Go has a built-in dependency management tool called go mod introduced in Go 1.11. It allows you to manage external dependencies and vendor packages efficiently. Use go mod to manage your project dependencies effectively.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have covered some of the essential Go idioms and best practices for writing effective Go code. We explored the basics of Go syntax, discussed function idioms, and looked at package organization and management.

By applying these idioms and best practices, you can write clean, efficient, and maintainable Go code. Remember to always document your code, handle errors explicitly, and follow the established conventions. Happy coding!

Now that you have a good understanding of Go idioms, try implementing them in your own projects and explore more advanced topics to further enhance your Go programming skills.

Keep coding and building amazing things with Go!

Please note that this tutorial is a starting point and there’s much more to learn about Go. Make sure to explore the official Go documentation and other learning resources to deepen your knowledge.

Published: 28 March 2020