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Kartik Patel
Kartik Patel

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What is GO

GO or GOlang

Introduction

Go(or GoLang) is a popular low-level programming language developed by Google in 2007.

And that's what we are going to cover in this blog.

  • What is GO?
  • How was it developed?
  • Why should you consider learning GO?

So let's not waste our time and jump in.

What is GO?

GO is a general-purpose programming language. It is statically typed and compiled. It is known for its simplicity of syntax and a better developer experience than other programming languages in the same niche, like:

  • C
  • C++
  • Rust

What is Statically typed?

A statically typed language is one where the type checking is completed at compile time, meaning the data type of each variable (string, integer, etc.) is known before the program runs and cannot be changed afterwards.

Many people get confused and think that GO is both statically and dynamically typed because:

x := 2 //Dynamically declared (GO's Type interface decides the type).
var y int = 4 //Statically declared.
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Both ways can be used to declare variables in GO.

But then why do we say it's statically typed?

Because in a statically typed language like GO, you cannot do: x := 2 and then x = "two". Doing this will cause a compilation error.

But in dynamically typed languages like JavaScript, you can do the same thing as

x = 2
x = 'two'
console.log(x)
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And it will work fine.

How was it developed?

GO was developed by Google in 2007. The designers wanted to address the issues they felt with the language they used at that time, but keep their useful characteristics.

Go was publicly announced in November 2009, and the first version was released in 2012. Now, this language is actively used in the world.

Why should I consider learning GO?

  • It’s Simple and easy, unlike Rust, C++, and C.
  • First Class Concurrency
  • Performance
  • Proven Track Record + Job Demand

And that's why you should prefer learning GO.

Outro and Upcoming

Upcoming: Getting started with GO
Other Post: Variables and GO
YouTube Channel: Selfish_Dev

Drop your thoughts down in the comments

Till then, stay Awesome and stay Selfish.

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