Two weeks ago, I’ve decided to learn Go. Mostly because I’ve been programing with Javascript/Typescript for almost two years now, and I wanted to learn something new. I chose Go because it can be used for creating backend and terminal applications, something that I’ve been looking into recently.
I know Javascript can also be used for both, but outside of frontend developing with Typescript and Vue, I don’t think I enjoy writing Javascript. Setting up a simple API or a small script is a pain 1, getting Typescript and ESLint working can take a while, and due to Javascript lack of standard library, you either have to re-invent solutions or use a third package, but then again, you have to check if they are compatible, include Types, and so on.
I’ve started by watching Max Firt course on Frontend Master: Basics of Go, which I 100% recommend. It is a great introduction to the language for developers, and there is also a bunch of tips and tricks. After that, I read (parts of) “The Power of Go tools”, which taught me some really good patterns on writting packages and testing. I've also been reading the Effective Go page, it’s great guide on how to write “idiomatic Go code”, but I’ll have to go back to understand better the go routines aspects.
Overall, I’ve been enjoying the experience. The language is simple, the standard library is vast, there is a bunch of resources online and it’s pretty easy to build something useful. I’ll try to keep writting about my journey learning Go, and also use it to solve programming questions alongside of Javascript.