GO Programming in easy steps

Mike McGrath

• Publisher: In Easy Steps Limited
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781840789195
• eBook ISBN: 9781840789270
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Programming Languages
• Index: Computer Science

GO Programming in easy steps has an easy-to-follow style that will appeal to anyone who wants to begin coding computer programs with Google's Go programming language. The code in the listed steps within the book is color-coded making it easier for beginners to grasp. You need have no previous knowledge of any computer programming language so it's ideal for the newcomer.

GO Programming in easy steps instructs you how to write code to create your own computer programs. It contains separate chapters demonstrating how to store information in data structures, how to control program flow using control structures, and how to create re-usable blocks of code in program functions. There are complete step-by-step example programs that demonstrate each aspect of coding, together with screenshots that illustrate the actual output when each program is executed.

GO Programming in easy steps begins by explaining how to easily create a programming environment on your own computer, so you can quickly begin to create your own working programs by copying the book's examples. After demonstrating the essential building blocks of computer programming it describes how to use data abstraction for object-oriented programming and demonstrates how to code goroutines and channels for concurrency in your programs.

Table of Contents

1

Get Started

Welcome to the exciting world of programming with Go. This chapter introduces the language and creates a workspace where you can run your first Go program.

Meet the Go Language

Install the Go Tools

Create the Go Workspace

Write a Go Program

Run a Go Program

Format and Comment Code

Explore the VS Code Editor

Summary

Meet the Go Language

Go is a free open-source programming language created at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson – best known for development of the Unix operating system. Google released version 1.0 of the Go language (“golang”) in March 2012, since when it has gained widespread popularity.

Go programs are written in plain text, then compiled into machine code by the Go compiler to produce an executable binary version.

The aims of the Go programming language are to be expressive, fast, efficient, reliable, and simple to write. Some programming languages, such as C or C++, are fast and reliable but not simple. Conversely, other programming languages such as Java or Python are simple to write but not so efficient.

Go is similar to the C programming language in many ways, and is sometimes referred to as a “C-like language” or “C for the 21st century”. But Go is much more than that, as it adopts good ideas from many other programming languages, yet avoids features that lead to complexity or unreliability.

Perhaps most importantly, Go introduces the ability to take advantage of multi-core CPU processing for concurrency using “goroutines” and “channels”. This provides the potential for the computer to deal with several things at the same time.

Although the Go language does not have the class structures found in Object Oriented Programming (OOP) languages, such as C++ or Java, its features do provide some degree of encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism – the three cornerstones of OOP.

The Go gopher – the iconic mascot of the Go programming language.

You can discover many more programming language books in the In Easy Steps series – including C, C++, C#, Java, and Python. Visit www.ineasysteps.com to find out more.

With so many programming languages to choose from, you may be wondering why you should choose to learn Go programming – so here are some of the advantages that Go offers:

Simple Syntax

The Go language is concise, like Python. It’s as simple to write as Python but is more efficient, like C++. This enables you to write code that is easy to read and maintain.

Compiled Language

The Go source code is compiled to binary machine code that can be read directly by the computer, instead of being interpreted every time a program runs. This enables the Go programs you write to run faster...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• How to Use This Book
• 1 Get Started
• 2 Store Values
• 3 Perform Operations
• 4 Control Flow
• 5 Produce Functions
• 6 Build Structures
• 7 Create Arrays
• 8 Harness Time
• 9 Manage Data
• 10 Handle Input
• 11 Employ Concurrency
• 12 Request Responses
• Backcover