How the Go Programming Language Can Help You Boost Your Career

The year is 2007, and Google faces scaling issues and clumsy, slow software development problems. However, as they say, necessity is the mother of all inventions. Therefore, in 2009, the engineers at Google came up with a solution to tackle all these issues. They call it the Go programming language. Now, let’s look deeper into this programming language and find out why it has such a wide appeal among developers and programmers.

What is the Go Programming Language?

The Go programming language, also known as Golang due to its former domain name, is a modern programming language created by Google in 2009. Moreover, it is an open-source, statically typed, compiled language designed to be simple and efficient. Additionally, Go is often used for building web servers, networking tools, and other high-performance applications. Furthermore, its built-in concurrency support and similarity to C make it a popular choice for developers already familiar with the language.

Why is the Go Programming Language So Popular?

As a programming language, Go has several things going for it. Moreover, given below are some key reasons for its popularity:

1. Simplicity

Go is designed to be simple, with a minimalistic syntax that is easy to learn and understand. 

2. Efficiency

Go is a compiled language that runs faster than interpreted languages like Python and JavaScript. Moreover, it also has built-in concurrency support, enabling effortless parallelization of tasks.

3. Scalability

Moreover, the Go programming language is designed for large-scale, high-performance applications. For instance, it is used for building web servers and networking tools that can handle large amounts of traffic and data.

4. Strong Community

Being open source, Go has a growing community of developers contributing to its development, making it easy for developers to find resources and support when working with Go.

5. Cross-Platform Compatibility

Additionally, Go can be compiled for various operating systems and architectures, facilitating seamless deployment across multiple platforms.

Why Learn the Go Programming Language?

Programmers across the world have come to realize the significance of the Go programming language. Consequently, owing to its popularity, more and more recruiters are looking for programmers who know how to code in Go. Therefore, it might be wise to pick it up and add it to your list of skills. Furthermore, here are some more reasons why it’s the right time to learn how to code with Go:

1. Go is easy to learn for beginners and experienced developers alike.
2. Moreover, it’s built to be future-proof and utilizes static typing, thus aiding in the early detection of errors during the coding process. 
3. Furthermore, another benefit of Go is its agility as a language; it surpasses other languages by being concurrent and capable of running multiple processes simultaneously, making it an ideal choice for constructing scalable and distributed systems.
4. Additionally, it has a wide range of convenient and user-friendly functions and packages with built-in support.
5. Go is a practical problem-solving language. Moreover, it is not restricted to coding academics.
6. As an open-source platform, it helps with customization.
7. Go developers are in high demand, as is evident from Talent.com. For instance, the average Golang developer salary in the United States is $132,365 per year. Moreover, entry-level salaries begin at $115,402, with experienced workers earning up to $169,339 annually.

ALSO READ: Top 10 Inexpensive Ways to Learn How to Code

Go vs. Python: Which Programming Language is Better?

The demand for the Go programming language has sharply risen over the years. However, whenever a new programming language gains popularity, it inevitably sparks a debate over which programming language is better. For instance, Go is often compared with Python. Now, let’s delve into the discussion by examining the differences between the two.

How to Learn the Go Programming Language

There are several ways to start learning the Go programming language, such as:

• Check out the official documentation and tutorials on the Go website
• Online coding courses offered by Emeritus 
• Another alternative is joining online communities and forums, such as the Go community on Reddit or the Go Slack channel, to ask questions and get help from other developers 
• Reading books like “Head First Go” by Jay McGavren and “The Go Programming Language” by Alan A.A. Donovan and Brian W. Kernighan

ALSO READ: 11 Software Engineering Projects to Improve Coding Skills

Go Programming Language: Pros and Cons

As with any other programming language, the Go programming language, too, has its pros and cons, both of which have been given below: 

Pros

• Simple and easy to learn
• Efficient and fast performance
• Built-in concurrency support
• Scalable and perfect for building high-performance applications
• Strong community and resources available
• Cross-platform compatibility
• Open source
• Good fit in the DevOps ecosystem

Cons

• Limited libraries and frameworks compared to other languages
• Not as widely used as other languages, which may make it difficult to find experienced Go developers
• Concurrency can be difficult to master for some developers 
• Go’s error handling is not as flexible as other languages

Some Popular Applications Developed using Go 

Some popular applications developed in the Go programming language include:

• Monzo, an app-based online bank
• Uber, the ride-hailing app, switched to the Go programming language to cope with the overwhelming number of requests 
• Music app SoundCloud started using Go to minimize the time spent thinking about the code

Over the years, the Go programming language has made its way into the mainstream, with more and more developers and companies choosing to learn and use it. So, add Go to your bag of tricks to improve the odds of getting noticed by recruiters and staying ahead of the tech game. Additionally, take a coding course on Emeritus today to learn the most popular programming languages.

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