Get started with Go

Go is a powerful yet simple language for building fast, reliable software. This guide walks you through installing Go, writing your first program, and understanding the basics.

Installing Go

Go is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Download it from the official site:

https://go.dev/dl/

Follow the installer prompts or extract the archive to a directory in your PATH.

Verify the installation:

go version

Setting Up Your Workspace

Go uses a workspace model:

GOPATH — Your workspace root (default: ~/go)
bin — Compiled executables
pkg — Compiled package objects
src — Your source code

From Go 1.18 onward, modules are the default for dependency management.

Writing Your First Program

Create a directory for your project:

mkdir hello-go
cd hello-go
go mod init example.com/hello-go

Create a main.go file:

package main

import "fmt"

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

Run it:

go run main.go

Building an Executable

You can compile your program to a binary:

go build
./hello-go

This creates an executable named after your module.

Understanding Go Syntax Basics

Packages: Every Go program is made of packages. main is special—it defines an executable program.
Imports: Use import to include packages.
Functions: Declared with func. The main function is the entry point.
Variables: Declared with var or := for short form.

Example:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    var name string = "Alice"
    age := 30
    fmt.Printf("%s is %d years old\n", name, age)
}

Go Modules and Dependencies

Add a dependency:

go get github.com/google/uuid

Use it in your code:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "github.com/google/uuid"
)

func main() {
    id := uuid.New()
    fmt.Println(id)
}

Next Steps

Learn about goroutines for concurrency
Explore the standard library
Practice with small projects like CLI tools or APIs

Final Thoughts

Go is easy to pick up yet capable of handling large-scale projects. With fast compilation and a rich standard library, you can go from idea to production quickly.

# Get started with Go