GoLang - 1 - Getting Started with Go

In this section, we’ll embark on our journey with the Go programming language. We’ll begin by discussing the essentials – installing Go, creating your first Go program (the famous “Hello World”), and understanding Go’s workspace and the GOPATH.

Installing Go

Before you can start working with Go, you need to have it installed on your system. Fortunately, Go provides straightforward installation procedures for various operating systems, making it accessible to developers across different platforms.

Installing Go on Windows

Visit the official Go download page (https://golang.org/dl/).
Choose the installer appropriate for your Windows version (e.g., MSI installer for Windows).
Download the installer and run it.
Follow the installation wizard, accepting the default options unless you have specific preferences.

Installing Go on macOS

Visit the official Go download page (https://golang.org/dl/).
Choose the installer appropriate for macOS.
Download the installer and open the disk image.
Drag and drop the Go package to your Applications folder.

Installing Go on Linux

For Linux, you can install Go using your distribution’s package manager or download and install it manually.

Using the Package Manager

Open a terminal.
Use your distribution’s package manager to install Go (e.g., sudo apt-get install golang for Ubuntu).

Manual Installation

Visit the official Go download page (https://golang.org/dl/).
Download the archive appropriate for your architecture and extract it to /usr/local or another directory of your choice.
Ensure your PATH environment variable includes the Go binary directory.

After completing the installation, you can verify it by opening a terminal and running go version. If everything is set up correctly, this command will display the installed Go version.

Hello World program in Go

Now that you have Go installed, it’s time to write your first Go program. The quintessential “Hello World” example is an excellent place to start. It introduces you to Go’s simple and clean syntax.


package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}

Here’s a breakdown of the code:

package main: This line declares that this Go file is part of the main package, which is required for executable programs.
import "fmt": We import the “fmt” package, which provides functions for formatted I/O (such as Println).
func main() { ... }: The main function is the entry point of the program. It’s where the program starts executing. In this case, we use fmt.Println to print “Hello, World!” to the console.

To run the program, save it to a .go file (e.g., hello.go) and execute go run hello.go in your terminal. You should see the output “Hello, World!”.

Understanding the GOPATH and workspace

In Go, your workspace and the GOPATH (Go Path) are critical concepts. The workspace is where you organize your Go code and projects, while GOPATH defines the location of your workspace on your file system.

GOPATH Structure

By default, GOPATH is set to a directory called go in your home directory. In this directory, you typically have three subdirectories:

src: This is where your Go source code files reside. Each project or package should have its own subdirectory in src.
pkg: Go compiler stores package objects (compiled code) in this directory.
bin: Executable binaries generated by go install are placed here.

Import Paths

Go uses import paths to locate packages within your workspace. The import path typically starts with your version control repository (e.g., GitHub username) and then specifies the package or project name. For example, if your project is hosted on GitHub as github.com/yourusername/myproject, you’d import it as import "github.com/yourusername/myproject" in your Go code.

Understanding GOPATH and workspace organization is crucial for Go development, especially when working with external packages and contributing to open-source projects.

With these fundamental concepts in place, you’re now well on your way to exploring Go’s powerful features, including its simple and efficient concurrency model, clean syntax, and extensive standard library. You can start building applications, libraries, and services using Go’s robust toolset and growing ecosystem.

GoLang – 1 – Getting Started with Go