Go projects don’t have an elaborate structure and are quick to set up. Open a new command prompt and create a folder named tools in a convenient location. Add a file named main.go to the tools folder with the content shown:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, Go")
}

The first statement is the package declaration. Packages are used to group related features, and every code file has to declare the package to which its contents belong. The package declaration uses the package keyword, followed by the name of the package.

The next statement is the import statement, which is used to declare dependencies on other packages. The import keyword is followed by the name of the package, which is enclosed in double quotes, as shown. The import statement specifies a package named fmt, which is the built-in Go package for reading and writing formatted strings. Check all the built-in packages here: https://pkg.go.dev/std

The remaining statements in the main.go file define a function named main. When you define a function named main in a package named main, you create an entry point, which is where execution begins in a command-line application

You may have noticed that I didn’t append a semicolon in the previous code. Go has an unusual approach to semicolons: they are required to terminate code statements, but they are not required in source code files. Instead, the Go build tools figure out where the semicolons need to go as they process files, acting as though they had been added by the developer.

The result is that semicolons can be used in Go source code files but are not required and are conventionally omitted.

Some oddities arise if you don’t follow the expected Go code style. For example, you will receive compiler errors if you attempt to put the opening brace for a function or for loop on the next line, like this:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, Go")
}

The errors report an unexpected semicolon and a missing function body. This is because the Go tools have automatically inserted a semicolon like this:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, Go")
}

The error messages make more sense when you understand why they arise, although it can be hard to adjust to the expected code format if this is your preferred brace placement.

I have tried to follow the no-semicolon convention throughout this book, but I have been writing code in languages that require semicolons for decades, so you may find the occasional example where I have added semicolons purely by habit. The go fmt command will remove semicolons and adjust other formatting issues.

The previous section demonstrated that you can get `tarted just by creating a code file, but a more common approach is to create a Go module, which is the conventional first step when starting a new project. Creating a Go module allows a project to easily consume third-party packages and can simplify the build process.

go mod init tool

This command adds a file named go.mod to the tools folder. The reason that most projects start with the go mod init command is that it simplifies the build process. Instead of specifying a particular code file, the project can be built and executed using a period, indicating the project in the current directory.

A linter is a tool that checks code files using a set of rules that describe problems that cause confusion, produce unexpected results, or reduce the readability of the code. The most widely used linter for Go is called golint, which applies rules taken from two sources. The first is the Effective Go document produced by Google (https://golang.org/doc/effective_go.html), which provides tips for writing clear and concise Go code. The second source is a collection of comments from code reviews (https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/CodeReviewComments).

The problem with golint is that it provides no configuration options and will always apply all the rules, which can result in warnings you care about being lost in a long list of warnings for rules you don’t care about. I prefer to use the revive linter package, which is a direct replacement for golint but with support for controlling which rules are applied. To install the revive package, open a new command prompt and run the command shown:

go install github.com/mgechev/revive@latest

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    PrintHello()
    for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
        PrintNumber(i)
    }
}

func PrintHello() {
    fmt.Print("Hello, Go")
}

func PrintNumber(number int) {
    fmt.Print(number)
}

main.go:12:1: exported function PrintHello should have comment or be unexported
main.go:16:1: exported function PrintNumber should have comment or be unexported

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    PrintHello()
    for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
        PrintNumber(i)
    }
}

// PrintHello Does staff
func PrintHello() {
    fmt.Print("Hello, Go")
}

// PrintNumber does staff
func PrintNumber(number int) {
    fmt.Print(number)
}

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    PrintHello()
    for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
        PrintNumber(i)
    }
}

// revive:disable:exported
func PrintHello() {
    fmt.Print("Hello, Go")
}

// revive:enable:exported
func PrintNumber(number int) {
    fmt.Print(number)
}

ignoreGeneratedHeader = false
severity = "warning"
confidence = 0.8
errorCode = 0
warningCode = 0
[rule.blank-imports]
[rule.context-as-argument]
[rule.context-keys-type]
[rule.dot-imports]
[rule.error-return]
[rule.error-strings]
[rule.error-naming]
#[rule.exported]
[rule.if-return]
[rule.increment-decrement]
[rule.var-naming]
[rule.var-declaration]
[rule.package-comments]
[rule.range]
[rule.receiver-naming]
[rule.time-naming]
[rule.unexported-return]
[rule.indent-error-flow]
[rule.errorf]

The go vet command identifies statements likely to be mistakes. Unlike a linter, which will often focus on style issues, the go vet command finds code that compiles but that probably won’t do what the developer intended.

I like the go vet command because it spots errors that other tools miss, although the analyzers don’t spot every mistake and will sometimes highlight code that isn’t a problem.

Look at the following example:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    PrintHello()
    for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
        i = i
        PrintNumber(i)
    }
}

func PrintHello() {
    fmt.Print("Hello, Go")
}

func PrintNumber(number int) {
    fmt.Print(number)
}

The new statement assigns the variable i to itself, which is allowed by the Go compiler but is likely to be a mistake. To analyze the code, use the command prompt to run the command:

go vet main.go

# party
.\main.go:8:3: self-assignment of i to i

The warnings produced by the go vet command specify the location in the code where a problem has been detected and provide a description of the issue.

The go vet command applies multiple analyzers to code, and you can see the list of analyzers at https://golang.org/cmd/vet. You can select individual analyzers to enable or disable, but it can be difficult to know which analyzer has generated a specific message. To figure out which analyzer is responsible for a warning, run the command:

go vet -json .

# party
{
    "party": {
        "assign": [
            {
                "posn": "E:\\leet\\go\\DummyPrograms\\main.go:8:3",
                "message": "self-assignment of i to i"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Go provides a set of basic data types, which are described in the table. These types are the foundation of Go development, and many of the characteristics of these types will be familiar from other languages.

Name	Description
int	This type represents a whole number, which can be positive or negative. The int type size is platform-dependent and will be either 32 or 64 bits. There are also integer types that have a specific size, such as int8, int16, int32, and int64, but the int type should be used unless you need a specific size.
uint	This type represents a positive whole number. The uint type size is platform- dependent and will be either 32 or 64 bits. There are also unsigned integer types that have a specific size, such as uint8, uint16, uint32, and uint64, but the uint type should be used unless you need a specific size.
byte	This type is an alias for uint8 and is typically used to represent a byte of data.
float32, float64	These types represent numbers with a fraction. These types allocate 32 or 64 bits to store the value.
complex64, complex128	These types represent numbers that have real and imaginary components. These types allocate 64 or 128 bits to store the value.
bool	This type represents a Boolean truth with the values true and false.
string	This type represents a sequence of characters
rune	This type represents a single Unicode code point. Unicode is complicated, but—loosely—this is the representation of a single character. The rune type is an alias for int32.

Constants are names for specific values, which allows them to be used repeatedly and consistently. There are two ways to define constants in Go: typed constants and untyped constants. This is an example of typed constants:

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    //"math/rand"
)
func main() {
    const price float32 = 275.00
    const tax float32 = 27.50
    const quantity int = 2
    fmt.Println("Total:", quantity * (price + tax))
}

The difference between typed and untyped constants is that, and since go has a very strict rules about type conversions, untyped will have some kind of conversions. The above code should gives the following error:

.\main.go:12:26: invalid operation: quantity * (price + tax) (mismatched types int and float32)

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    //"math/rand"
)
func main() {
    const price float32 = 275.00
    const tax float32 = 27.50
    const quantity = 2
    fmt.Println("Total:", quantity * (price + tax))
}

Omitting the type when defining the quantity constant tells the Go compiler that it should be more flexible about the constant’s type. When the expression passed to the fmt.Println function is evaluated, the Go compiler will convert the quantity value to a float32. Compile and execute the code, and you will receive the following output:

Total: 605

Untyped constants will be converted only if the value can be represented in the target type. In practice, this means you can mix untyped integer and floating-point numeric values, but conversions between other data types must be done explicitly.

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    //"math/rand"
)
func main() {
    const price, tax float32 = 275, 27.50
    const quantity, inStock = 2, true
    fmt.Println("Total:", quantity * (price + tax))
    fmt.Println("In stock: ", inStock)
}

The const keyword is followed by a comma-separated list of names, an equal sign, and a comma separated list of values.

Untyped constants may seem like an odd feature, but they make working with Go a lot easier, and you will find yourself relying on this feature, often without realizing, because literal values are untyped constants, which means that you can use literal values in expressions and rely on the compiler to deal with mismatched types, as shown:

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    //"math/rand"
)
func main() {
    const price, tax float32 = 275, 27.50
    const quantity, inStock = 2, true
    fmt.Println("Total:", 2 * quantity * (price + tax))
    fmt.Println("In stock: ", inStock)
}

Variables are defined using the var keyword, and, unlike constants, the value assigned to a variable can be changed, as shown:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    var price float32 = 275.00
    var tax float32 = 27.50
    fmt.Println(price + tax)
    price = 300
    fmt.Println(price + tax)
}

Variables are declared using the var keyword, a name, a type, and a value assignment, as illustrated:

package main

import "fmt"
func main() {
    var price float32 = 275.00
    var tax float32 = 27.50
    fmt.Println(price + tax)
    price = 300
    fmt.Println(price + tax)
}

The Go compiler can infer the type of variables based on the initial value, which allows the type to be omitted:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    var price = 275.00
    var price2 = price
    fmt.Println(price)
    fmt.Println(price2)
}

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    price := 275.00
    fmt.Println(price)
}

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    price, tax, inStock := 275.00, 27.50, true
    fmt.Println("Total:", price + tax)
    fmt.Println("In stock:", inStock)
}

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    price, tax, inStock := 275.00, 27.50, true
    fmt.Println("Total:", price + tax)
    fmt.Println("In stock:", inStock)
    var price2, tax = 200.00, 25.00
    fmt.Println("Total 2:", price2 + tax)
}

.\main.go:10:17: tax redeclared in this block

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    price, tax, inStock := 275.00, 27.50, true
    fmt.Println("Total:", price + tax)
    fmt.Println("In stock:", inStock)
    price2, tax := 200.00, 25.00
    fmt.Println("Total 2:", price2 + tax)
}

    price, tax, inStock, discount := 275.00, 27.50, true, true
    var salesPerson = "Alice"
    fmt.Println("Total:", price + tax)
    fmt.Println("In stock:", inStock)

.\main.go:6:26: discount declared but not used
.\main.go:7:9: salesPerson declared but not used

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    price, tax, inStock, _ := 275.00, 27.50, true, true
    var _ = "Alice"
    fmt.Println("Total:", price + tax)
    fmt.Println("In stock:", inStock)
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
)

func main() {
    price4, _, _ := f()
    fmt.Println(price4)
}

func f() (int, int, int) {
    return 42, 53, 5
}

Pointers are often misunderstood, especially if you have come to Go from a language such as Java or C#, where pointers are used behind the scenes but carefully hidden from the developer. To understand how pointers work, the best place to start is understanding what Go does when pointers are not used, as shown:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    first := 100
    second := first;
    first++
    fmt.Println("First:", first)
    fmt.Println("Second:", second)
}

The previous code creates two variables. The value of the variable named first is set using a string literal. The value of the variable named second is set using the first value.

Go copies the current value of first when creating second, after which these variables are independent of one another. Each variable is a reference to a separate memory location where its value is stored

When I use the ++ operator to increment the first variable, Go reads the value at the memory location associated with the variable, increments the value, and stores it at the same memory location. The value assigned to the second variable remains the same because the change affects only the value stored by the first variable.

Pointers have a bad reputation because of pointer arithmetic. Pointers store memory locations as numeric values, which means they can be manipulated using arithmetic operators, providing access to other memory locations. You can start with a location that points to an int value, for example; increment the value by the number of bits used to store an int; and read the adjacent value. This can be useful but can cause unexpected results, such as trying to access the wrong location or a location outside of the memory allocated to the program.

package main
import (
    "fmt"
//    "math"
)
func main() {
    kayak := 275
    soccerBall := 19.50
    total := kayak + soccerBall
    fmt.Println(total)
}

.\main.go:13:20: invalid operation: kayak + soccerBall (mismatched types int and float64)

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    //math"
)

func main() {
    kayak := 275
    soccerBall := 19.50
    total := float64(kayak) + soccerBall
    fmt.Println(total)
}

The flow of execution in a Go application is simple to understand, especially when the application is as simple as the example. The statements defined in the special main function, known as the application’s entry point, are executed in the order in which they are defined. Once these statements have all been executed, the application exits. Example:

import "fmt"
func main() {
    kayakPrice := 275.00
    if kayakPrice > 100 {
        fmt.Println("Price is greater than 100")
    }
}

Go allows an if statement to use an initialization statement, which is executed before the if statement’s expression is evaluated. The initialization statement is restricted to a Go simple statement, which means—in broad terms—that the statement can define a new variable, assign a new value to an existing variable, or invoke a function

import (
    "fmt"
    "strconv"
)
func main() {
    priceString := "275"
    if kayakPrice, err := strconv.Atoi(priceString); err == nil {
        fmt.Println("Price:", kayakPrice)
    } else {
        fmt.Println("Error:", err)
    }
}

• Three-component loop

  sum := 0
  for i := 1; i < 5; i++ {
      sum += i
  }
  fmt.Println(sum) // 10 (1+2+3+4)
  

• While Loop

  n := 1
  for n < 5 {
      n *= 2
  }
  fmt.Println(n) // 8 (1*2*2*2)
  

• For-each range loop

  strings := []string{"hello", "world"}
  for i, s := range strings {
      fmt.Println(i, s)
  }
  
  

The best way to think of slices is as a variable-length array because they are useful when you don’t know how many values you need to store or when the number changes over time. One way to define a slice is to use the built-in make function

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    names := make([]string, 3)
    names[0] = "Kayak"
    names[1] = "Lifejacket"
    names[2] = "Paddle"
    fmt.Println(names)
}

The slice type in this example is []string, which denotes a slice that holds string values. The length is not part of the slice type because the size of slices can vary, as I demonstrate later in this section. Slices can also be created using a literal syntax

The slice type in this example is []string, which denotes a slice that holds string values. The length is not part of the slice type because the size of slices can vary, as I demonstrate later in this section. Slices can also be created using a literal syntax, as shown:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    names := []string {"Kayak", "Lifejacket", "Paddle"}
    fmt.Println(names)
}

The combination of the slice type and the length is used to create an array, which acts as the data store for the slice. The slice is a data structure that contains three values: a pointer to the array, the length of the slice, and the capacity of the slice. The length of the slice is the number of elements that it can store, and the capacity is the number of elements that can be stored in the array. In this example, the length and the capacity are both 3:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    names := []string {"Kayak", "Lifejacket", "Paddle"}
    names = append(names, "Hat", "Gloves")
    fmt.Println(names)
}

Creating and copying arrays can be inefficient. If you expect that you will need to append items to a slice, you can specify additional capacity when using the make function:

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    names := make([]string, 3, 6)
    names[0] = "Kayak"
    names[1] = "Lifejacket"
    names[2] = "Paddle"
    fmt.Println("len:", len(names))
    fmt.Println("cap:", cap(names))
}

As noted earlier, slices have a length and a capacity. The length of a slice is how many values it can currently contain, while the number of elements that can be stored in the underlying array before the slice must be resized and a new array created. The capacity will always be at least the length but can be larger if additional capacity has been allocated with the make function. The call to the make function creates a slice with a length of 3 and a capacity of 6.

Slices can be created using existing arrays, which builds on the behavior described in earlier examples and emphasizes the nature of slices as views onto arrays

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
products := [4]string { "Shblanga", "Lifejacket", "Paddle", "Hat"}
someNames := products[2:4]
allNames := products[:]
fmt.Println("someNames:", someNames)
fmt.Println("allNames", allNames)
}

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    products := [4]string { "Kayak", "Lifejacket", "Paddle", "Hat"}
    allNames := products[1:]
    someNames := make([]string, 2)
    copy(someNames, allNames)
    fmt.Println("someNames:", someNames)
    fmt.Println("allNames", allNames)
}

The defer keyword is used to schedule a function call that will be performed immediately before the current function returns, as shown

package main
import "fmt"
func calcTotalPrice(products map[string]float64) (count int, total float64){
    fmt.Println("Function started")
    defer fmt.Println("First defer call")
    count = len(products)
    for _, price := range products {
        total += price
    }
    defer fmt.Println("Second defer call")
    fmt.Println("Function about to return")
    return
}
func main() {
    products := map[string]float64 {
        "Kayak" : 275,
        "Lifejacket": 48.95,
    }
    _, total  := calcTotalPrice(products)
    fmt.Println("Total:", total)
}

When a package is imported, the combination of the module name and package name ensures that the package is uniquely identified. But only the package name is used when accessing the features provided by the package, which can lead to conflicts. To see how this problem arises, create the packages/fmt folder and add to it a file named formats.go with the code shown:

package fmt
import "strconv"
func ToCurrency(amount float64) string {
    return "$" + strconv.FormatFloat(amount, 'f', 2, 64)
}

This will never compile:

go run .
# packges
./main.go:5:2: fmt redeclared in this block
    ./main.go:4:2: other declaration of fmt
./main.go:5:2: imported and not used: "packges/fmt"

One way to deal with package name conflicts is to use an alias, which allows a package to be accessed using a different name, as shown:

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    "packages/store"
    currencyFmt "packages/fmt"
)
func main() {
    product := store.NewProduct("Kayak", "Watersports", 279)
    fmt.Println("Name:", product.Name)
    fmt.Println("Category:", product.Category)
    fmt.Println("Price:", currencyFmt.ToCurrency(product.Price()))
}

There is a special alias, known as the dot import, that allows a package’s features to be used without using a prefix, as shown:

import (
    "fmt"
    "packages/store"
    . "packages/fmt"
)
func main() {
    product := store.NewProduct("Kayak", "Watersports", 279)
    fmt.Println("Name:", product.Name)
    fmt.Println("Category:", product.Category)
    fmt.Println("Price:", ToCurrency(product.Price()))
}

Each code file can contain an initialization function that is executed only when all packages have been loaded and all other initialization—such as defining constants and variables—has been done. The most common use for initialization functions is to perform calculations that are difficult to perform or that require duplication to perform, as shown:

package store
const defaultTaxRate float64 = 0.2
const minThreshold = 10
var categoryMaxPrices = map[string]float64 {
    "Watersports": 250 + (250 * defaultTaxRate),
    "Soccer": 150 + (150 * defaultTaxRate),
    "Chess": 50 + (50 * defaultTaxRate),
}
type taxRate struct {
    rate, threshold float64
}
func newTaxRate(rate, threshold float64) *taxRate {
    if (rate == 0) {
        rate = defaultTaxRate
    }
    if (threshold < minThreshold) {
        threshold = minThreshold
    }
    return &taxRate { rate, threshold }
}
func (taxRate *taxRate) calcTax(product *Product) (price float64) {
    if (product.price > taxRate.threshold) {
        price = product.price + (product.price * taxRate.rate)
    } else {
        price = product.price
    }
    if max, ok := categoryMaxPrices[product.Category]; ok && price > max {
        price = max
    }
    return
}

package data
import "fmt"
func init() {
    fmt.Println(("data.go init function invoked"))
}
func GetData() []string {
    return []string {"Kayak", "Lifejacket", "Paddle", "Soccer Ball"}
}

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    "packages/store"
    . "packages/fmt"
    "packages/store/cart"
    _ "packages/data"
)
func main() {
    product := store.NewProduct("Kayak", "Watersports", 279)
    cart := cart.Cart {
        CustomerName: "Alice",
        Products: []store.Product{ *product },
    }
    fmt.Println("Name:", cart.CustomerName)
    fmt.Println("Total:",  ToCurrency(cart.GetTotal()))
}

Go has excellent support for writing concurrent applications, using features that are simpler and more intuitive than any other language I have used. In this chapter, I describe the use of goroutines, which allow functions to be executed concurrently, and channels, through which goroutines can produce results asynchronously.

package main

import "strconv"

type Product struct {
    Name, Category string
    Price          float64
}

var ProductList = []*Product{
    {"Kayak", "Watersports", 279},
    {"Lifejacket", "Watersports", 49.95},
    {"Soccer Ball", "Soccer", 19.50},
    {"Corner Flags", "Soccer", 34.95},
    {"Stadium", "Soccer", 79500},
    {"Thinking Cap", "Chess", 16},
    {"Unsteady Chair", "Chess", 75},
    {"Bling-Bling King", "Chess", 1200},
}

type ProductGroup []*Product
type ProductData = map[string]ProductGroup

var Products = make(ProductData)

func ToCurrency(val float64) string {
    return "$" + strconv.FormatFloat(val, 'f', 2, 64)
}
func init() {
    for _, p := range ProductList {
        if _, ok := Products[p.Category]; ok {
            Products[p.Category] = append(Products[p.Category], p)
        } else {
            Products[p.Category] = ProductGroup{p}
        }
    }
}

This file defines a custom type named Product, along with type aliases that I use to create a map that organizes products by category. I use the Product type in a slice and a map, and I rely on an init function, to populate the map from the contents of the slice, which is itself populated using the literal syntax. This file also contains a ToCurrency function that formats float64 values into dollar currency strings, which I will use to format the results in this chapter. Add another file called operation.go:

package main

import "fmt"

func CalcStoreTotal(data ProductData) {
    var storeTotal float64
    for category, group := range data {
        storeTotal += group.TotalPrice(category)
    }
    fmt.Println("Total:", ToCurrency(storeTotal))
}
func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string) (total float64) {
    for _, p := range group {
        total += p.Price
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "subtotal:", ToCurrency(total))
    return
}

The key building block for executing a Go program is the goroutine, which is a lightweight thread created by the Go runtime. All Go programs use at least one goroutine because this is how Go executes the code in the main function. When compiled Go code is executed, the runtime creates a goroutine that starts executing the statements in the entry point, which is the main function in the main package. Each statement in the main function is executed in the order in which they are defined. The goroutine keeps executing statements until it reaches the end of the main function, at which point the application terminates.

The goroutine executes each statement in the main function synchronously, which means that it waits for the statement to complete before moving on to the next statement. The statements in the main function can call other functions, use for loops, create values, and use all the other features. The main goroutine will work its way through the code, following its path by executing one statement at a time.

Follows adds a statement that writes out details of each product as it is processed, which will demonstrate the flow shown in the figure:

func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string) (total float64) {
    for _, p := range group {
        fmt.Printf(category, "product", p.Name)
        total += p.Price
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "subtotal:", ToCurrency(total))
    return
}

You may see different results based on the order in which keys are retrieved from the map, but what’s important is that all the products in a category are processed before execution moves onto the next category. The advantages of synchronous execution are simplicity and consistency—the behavior of synchronous code is easy to understand and predictable. The disadvantage is that it can be inefficient. Working sequentially through nine data items, as in the example, doesn’t present any issues, but most real projects have larger volumes of data or have other tasks to perform, which means that sequential execution takes too long and doesn’t produce results fast enough.

Go allows the developer to create additional goroutines, which execute code at the same time as the main goroutine. Go makes it easy to create new goroutines, as shown:

package main

import "fmt"

func CalcStoreTotal(data ProductData) {
    var storeTotal float64
    for category, group := range data {
        go group.TotalPrice(category)
    }
    fmt.Println("Total:", ToCurrency(storeTotal))
}
func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string) (total float64) {
    for _, p := range group {
        fmt.Printf(category, "product", p.Name)
        total += p.Price
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "subtotal:", ToCurrency(total))
    return
}

A goroutine is created using the go keyword followed by the function or method that should be executed asynchronously.

When the Go runtime encounters the go keyword, it creates a new goroutine and uses it to execute the specified function or method. This changes the program execution because, at any given moment, there are multiple goroutines, each of which is executing its own set of statements. These statements are executed concurrently, which just means they are being executed at the same time. In the case of the example, a goroutine is created for each call to the TotalPrice method, which means that the categories are processed concurrently.

Getting a result from a function that is being executed asynchronously can be complicated because it requires coordination between the goroutine that produces the result and the goroutine that consumes the result. To address this issue, Go provides channels, which are conduits through which data can be sent and received. I am going to introduce a channel into the example in steps:

package main

import "fmt"

func CalcStoreTotal(data ProductData) {
    var storeTotal float64
    for category, group := range data {
        var channel chan float64 = make(chan float64)
        go group.TotalPrice(category)
    }
    fmt.Println("Total:", ToCurrency(storeTotal))
}
func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string) (total float64) {
    for _, p := range group {
        fmt.Printf(category, "product", p.Name)
        total += p.Price
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "subtotal:", ToCurrency(total))
    return
}

Channels are strongly typed, which means that they will carry values of a specified type or interface. The type for a channel is the chan keyword, followed by the type the channel will carry. Channels are created using the built-in make function, specifying the channel type.

I used the full variable declaration syntax in this listing to emphasize the type, which is chan float64, meaning a channel that will carry float64 values.

The next step is to update the TotalPrice method so that it sends its result through the channel, as shown:

func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string, resultChannel chan float64)  {
    var total float64
    for _, p := range group {
        fmt.Println(category, "product:", p.Name)
        total += p.Price
        time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "subtotal:", ToCurrency(total))
    resultChannel <- total
}

By default, sending and receiving through a channel are blocking operations. This means a goroutine that sends a value will not execute any further statements until another goroutine receives the value from the channel. If a second goroutine sends a value, it will be blocked until the channel is cleared, causing a queue of goroutines waiting for values to be received. This happens in the other direction, too, so that goroutines that receive values will block until another goroutine sends one

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
)
func CalcStoreTotal(data ProductData) {
    var storeTotal float64
    var channel chan float64 = make(chan float64)
    for category, group := range data {
        go group.TotalPrice(category, channel)
    }
    time.Sleep(time.Second * 5)
    fmt.Println("-- Starting to receive from channel")
    for i := 0; i < len(data); i++ {
        fmt.Println("-- channel read pending")
        value :=  <- channel
        fmt.Println("-- channel read complete", value)
        storeTotal += value
        time.Sleep(time.Second)
    }
    fmt.Println("Total:", ToCurrency(storeTotal))
}
func (group ProductGroup) TotalPrice(category string, resultChannel chan float64)  {
    var total float64
    for _, p := range group {
        //fmt.Println(category, "product:", p.Name)
        total += p.Price
        time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 100)
    }
    fmt.Println(category, "channel sending", ToCurrency(total))
    resultChannel <- total
    fmt.Println(category, "channel send complete")
}

The default channel behavior can lead to bursts of activity as goroutines do their work, followed by a long idle period waiting for messages to be received. This doesn’t have an impact on the example application because the goroutines finish once their messages are received, but in a real project goroutines often have repetitive tasks to perform, and waiting for a receiver can cause a performance bottleneck.

An alternative approach is to create a channel with a buffer, which is used to accept values from a sender and store them until a receiver becomes available. This makes sending a message a nonblocking operation, allowing a sender to pass its value to the channel and continue working without having to wait for a receiver. This is similar to Alice having an inbox on her desk. Senders come to Alice’s office and put their message into the inbox, leaving it for Alice to read when she is ready. But, if the inbox is full, then they will have to wait until she has processed some of her backlog before sending a new message.

It is possible to create bidirectional as well as uni-directional channels in golang. A channel can be created to which we can only send data, as well as a channel, can be created from which we can only receive data. This is determined by the direction of the arrow of the channel. The direction of the arrow for a channel specifies the direction of flow of data

• chan :bidirectional channel (Both read and write)
• chan <- :only writing to channel
• <- chan :only reading from channel (input channel)

package main
import (
    "fmt"
    "time"
)
// func receiveDispatches(channel <-chan DispatchNotification) {
//     for details := range channel {
//         fmt.Println("Dispatch to", details.Customer, ":", details.Quantity,
//             "x", details.Product.Name)
//     }
//     fmt.Println("Channel has been closed")
// }
func main() {
    dispatchChannel := make(chan DispatchNotification, 100)
    go DispatchOrders(chan<- DispatchNotification(dispatchChannel))
    // receiveDispatches((<-chan DispatchNotification)(dispatchChannel))
    for {
        select {
            case details, ok := <- dispatchChannel:
                    if ok {
                    fmt.Println("Dispatch to", details.Customer, ":",
                        details.Quantity, "x", details.Product.Name)
                } else {
                    fmt.Println("Channel has been closed")
                    goto alldone
                }
            default:
                fmt.Println("-- No message ready to be received")
                time.Sleep(time.Millisecond * 500)
        }
    }
    alldone: fmt.Println("All values received")
}

Create a new, empty directory somewhere outside $GOPATH/src, cd into that directory, and then create a new source file, hello.go:

package hello

func Hello() string {
    return "Hello, world."
}

Let’s write a test, too, in hello_test.go:

package hello

import "testing"

func TestHello(t *testing.T) {
    want := "Hello, world."
    if got := Hello(); got != want {
        t.Errorf("Hello() = %q, want %q", got, want)
    }
}

At this point, the directory contains a package, but not a module, because there is no go.mod file. If we were working in /home/gopher/hello and ran go test now, we’d see:

$ go test
PASS
ok      _/home/gopher/hello 0.020s
$

The primary motivation for Go modules was to improve the experience of using (that is, adding a dependency on) code written by other developers.

package main

import (
    "errors"
    "fmt"
    "os"
)

func main() {

    _, err := os.Stat("words.txt")

    if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {

        fmt.Println("file does not exist")
    } else {

        fmt.Println("file exists")
    }
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "os"
)

func main() {

    file, err := os.Create("empty.txt")

    defer file.Close()

    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println("file created")
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "os"
)

func main() {

    err := os.Remove("words.txt")

    if err != nil {

        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println("file deleted")
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "os"
)

func main() {

    fInfo, err := os.Stat("words.txt")

    if err != nil {

        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fsize := fInfo.Size()

    fmt.Printf("The file size is %d bytes\n", fsize)
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io/ioutil"
    "log"
)

func main() {

    content, err := ioutil.ReadFile("words.txt")

    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(content))
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
    "os"
    "path/filepath"
)

func main() {

    var files []string

    root := "/home/janbodnar/Documents"

    err := filepath.Walk(root, func(path string, info os.FileInfo, err error) error {

        if err != nil {

            fmt.Println(err)
            return nil
        }

        if !info.IsDir() && filepath.Ext(path) == ".txt" {
            files = append(files, path)
        }

        return nil
    })

    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    for _, file := range files {
        fmt.Println(file)
    }
}

The strings packages provides comparison functions;

Function	Description
Contains(s, substr)	This function returns true if the string s contains substr and false if it does not.
ContainsAny(s, substr)	This function returns true if the string s contains any of the characters contained in the string substr.
EqualFold(s1, s2)	This function performs a case-insensitive comparison and returns true of strings s1 and s2 are the same.
ContainsRune(s, rune)	This function returns true if the string s contains a specific rune.
HasPrefix(s, prefix)	This function returns true if the string s begins with the string prefix.
HasSuffix(s, suffix)	This function returns true if the string ends with the string suffix.

type Builder struct {
    // contains filtered or unexported fields
}

A Builder is used to efficiently build a string using Write methods. It minimizes memory copying. The zero value is ready to use. Do not copy a non-zero Builder.

Example:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "strings"
)

func main() {
    var b strings.Builder
    for i := 3; i >= 1; i-- {
        fmt.Fprintf(&b, "%d...", i)
    }
    b.WriteString("ignition")
    fmt.Println(b.String())

}

,

Strings are immutable in Go, you have to convert it to runes then modify it then convert it back to a string.

func replaceAtIndex(in string, r rune, i int) string {
    out := []rune(in)
    out[i] = r
    return string(out)
}

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "strings"
)

func main() {
    transform := func(r rune) rune {
        // Map uppercase A to underscore.
        if r == 'A' {
            return '_'
        }
        return r
    }

    input := "STARRY NIGHT, A PAINTING"
    fmt.Println(input)

    // Use Map() to run func on each rune.
    result := strings.Map(transform, input)
    fmt.Println(result)
}

To define a custom error, we implement the error interface.

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"
)

func enterAge(age int) (string, error) {

    if age < 0 || age > 130 {

        return "", &wrongAge{age, "wrong age value"}
    }

    return fmt.Sprintf("processing %d age value", age), nil
}

type wrongAge struct {
    age int
    msg string
}

func (e *wrongAge) Error() string {

    return fmt.Sprintf("%d: %s", e.age, e.msg)
}

func main() {

    var age int = 18
    msg, err := enterAge(age)

    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(msg)

    age = 178
    msg, err = enterAge(age)

    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    fmt.Println(msg)
}

Declaring an error, and comparing it with '==' (as in err == myPkg.ErrTokenExpired) is no longer the best practice with Go 1.13 (Q3 2019).

The right way is:

if errors.Is(err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF)