5What is Go?
1.1 What is Go?
Go is a compiled programming language. Before you run a program, Go uses a compiler
to translate your code into the 1s and 0s that machines speak. It compiles all your code
into a single executable for you to run or distribute. During this process, the Go compiler
can catch typos and mistakes.
Not all programming languages employ this approach. Python, Ruby, and several other
popular languages use an interpreter to translate one statement at a time as a program is
running. That means bugs may be lurking down paths you haven’t tested.
On the other hand, interpreters make the process of writing code fast and interactive,
with languages that are dynamic, carefree, and fun. Compiled languages have a reputa-
tion for being static, inflexible robots that programmers are forced to appease, and com-
pilers are derided for being slow. But does it need to be this way?
We wanted a language with the safety and performance of statically compiled languages such as
C++ and Java, but the lightness and fun of dynamically typed interpreted languages such as
Python.
—Rob Pike, Geek of the Week
(see mng.bz/jr8y)
Go is crafted with a great deal of consideration for the experience of writing software.
Large programs compile in seconds with a single command. The language omits fea-
tures that lead to ambiguity, encouraging code that is predictable and easily under-
stood. And Go provides a lightweight alternative to the rigid structure imposed by
classical languages like Java.
Java omits many rarely used, poorly understood, confusing features of C++ that in our experience
bring more grief than benefit.
—James Gosling, Java: an Overview
Each new programming language refines ideas of the past. In Go, using memory effi-
ciently is easier and less error-prone than earlier languages, and Go takes advantage of
every core on multicore machines. Success stories often cite improved efficiency as a
reason for switching to Go. Iron.io was able to replace 30 servers running Ruby with
2 servers using Go (see mng.bz/Wevx and mng.bz/8yo2). Bitly has “seen consistent,
measurable performance gains” when rewriting Python apps in Go, and subsequently
replaced its C apps with a Go successor (see mng.bz/EnYl).
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