Friday, Apr 19, 2024

Golang Web Development: When And Why Should You Consider It?

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Golang Web Development: When And Why Should You Consider It?

Image from: http://kirael-art.deviantart.com/art/Go-lang-Mascot-458285682

In the world of web development, agility is a king. Every business strives to optimize its processes. And developers are always searching for a more efficient and project-friendly language.

Golang is famous for delivering unmatched performance with lightning speed. It has taken the world by storm and has entangled the DevOps industry like a creeping vine.

But is it really worth the entire buzz? Let’s find out!

What is Go/Golang?

Go, aka Golang, is one of the hottest open-source programming languages today. Google engineers designed it while waiting for other programs to compile. 

Go was created by software industry veterans who have felt the pain from shortcomings of the existing languages. Proven ideas and the best parts of other languages were combined, such as the runtime efficiency of C++ and the readability of JavaScript.

Go’s syntax is based heavily on C, but with an emphasis on greater simplicity and safety. Let’s dive into the Golang web development process so we can find all the benefits.

Can Go be used for web development and creating web apps?

Google’s programming language has made a name for itself. A lot of cool software is written using Go, including Kubernetes, Terraform, and Hugo. The killer app for Go was Docker that triggered its wide adoption in the development world. 

Can Golang be used for web development?

Golang will definitely do the trick if you need to carry out programming for a large software system or build a high-performance server that handles thousands of requests per second. However, if you’re building a simple CMS-like website, it might not be the best tool for the job.

You don’t need a huge tech stack if you’re using Go for your project. Also, a Go-based app is less demanding in terms of system requirements. Go is a really flexible language, able to solve a lot of problems.

Pros and cons of using Go for web development

Golang incorporates ease of coding, efficient code-compilation, and efficient execution. No wonder, Golang web development has gained enormous popularity among real business monsters like Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Uber, and IBM.

Below are some pros & cons of working in Go to help you know if it is right for your project.

What is Go’s key to success?

Besides the cute mascot, Go brings a whole set of cool tools and features. It makes the developer’s life easy in several ways:

  1.     Go has taken simplicity to a whole new level

One of the main things that made Go so popular is simplicity. Its syntax holds zero unnecessary components. 

“Advanced” no longer equals complex. Instead of having to delve into the language structure, developers are now free to focus on development itself.

Golang web development has proven to be the biggest game-changer. You can implement a simple web server in just a few lines of code.      

  1.     Easy to learn

If you are looking to shift from your old language to a new one, Go would be a great choice. There is only a slight change in the syntax, and the documentation is easy to follow.

Developers can without much of a stretch comprehend the way it works. You can learn most of Go’s syntax in a couple of hours with “A Tour of Go“.

  1.     Great standard library

Go has a wickedly awesome standard library, particularly for everything related to network protocols or API development, including: 

–        http client and server,

–        crypto,

–        archive formats,

–        compressions,

–        sending emails. 

  1.     Convenience

Go compiles extremely fast and offers automatic memory management capabilities. Further, it is straightforward to work with – it takes a few steps & little bookkeeping to build a project.

  1.     Extremely fast

It is as good as C and much faster than JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. Compiled to machine code, Go outperforms languages that are interpreted or have virtual runtimes. 

  1.     Amazing built-in tools

Golang natively supports a variety of different tools, so you don’t need to search for any third-party libraries: 

–         Testing framework: “go test”

–         Tool for static code analysis: “gofmt”

–         Documentation tool: “godoc”

  1.     Code written in Go is easy to maintain

Go is much easier to maintain than Java, as we need no virtual machine, no warming up period, etc.

Go language limitations

Go improves the experience of the developer, but it is not perfect. Here are some cons that you might want to consider.

  1.     Lack of generics

Go doesn’t have generics… or more precisely – almost no generics. The built-in slice, map, array, and channel are generic. However, there are no user-definable generic data structures. It means a decreased level of reuse in your code, which hurts productivity and maintainability.

  1.     Time-consuming

A programmer will have to code dozens of lines to accomplish a similar function that could be done with a couple of lines in other programming languages, such as Python. 

  1.     Poor library support

Another downside to Go is that library support for Go is spotty. There are not many resources out there to assist you. The API integrates with Contentful, which does not have an officially supported Go SDK.             

  1.     Interface methods don’t support default implementations

Go interfaces don’t support default implementations for their methods. It means that adding a method interface would break a lot of existing code. 

When to use Go for web dev?

Go delivers speed, security, and developer-friendly tools for web applications. It shines brightest for developing the following app types:

         Distributed networked services

Go’s native concurrency features are well suited for networking, distributed functions, and cloud services, such as APIs, web servers, and minimal frameworks for web applications.

         Cloud-native development

Go is one of the best programming languages for cloud-native development thanks to concurrency & networking features and its high portability.

         Replacements for existing infrastructure

Aging software we depend on for Internet infrastructure poses security risks and threatens data integrity. Rewriting it in Go offers numerous benefits, such as better memory safety, easier cross-platform deployment, and a clean codebase.

         Utilities and stand-alone tools

Go programs launch quickly and can be readily packaged up for redistribution.

Most popular Golang web development frameworks

Go enables developers to rapidly develop scalable and secure web applications. However, additional functionality is often desired. And having a solid framework is very important. 

Thankfully, Go boasts a wide range of amazing frameworks. Let’s look at the top 5 Golang web development frameworks that you can utilize to construct your website or web portal.

         Gin – HTTP web framework

Gin is an HTTP web framework that is used for building a REST API to develop a single page application using a frontend framework. It is the fastest full-featured web framework for Golang.

        Beego – Powerful Go app framework

Beego is used for the rapid development of RESTful APIs, web apps, and backend services. It has many similarities with Django, which is the framework for Python language.

         Echo – Minimalist Go web framework

Echo is used to build robust and scalable RESTful API, easily organized into groups. 

       Kit – A standard library for microservices

Kit is a modular and lightweight front-end framework. It is used for developing fast and high-performance web interfaces. 

 

Golang web framework comparison

 

Framework Advantages Disadvantages
Gin Simple to learn, user-friendly, and easily manageable when it comes to tracking issues or debugging. It is not suitable for applications that require a large backend or several complex server functions.
Beego  Cache handlers and libraries make it easy to operate HTTP elements It caches previous versions of pages, which can lead to a silent build failure. 
Echo Custom HTTP error handler. Infrequent code updates.
Kit It provides robust, reliable, and maintainable microservices. The heavy use of interfaces leads to the high addition of the API to the service.

 

Deciding whether to use Go

Why should we use Golang for backend development when there are other, more established ecosystems?

Go’s strengths come from combining simple and proven ideas while avoiding many of the problems found in other languages. It is constantly evolving, providing more tools and reducing development time & cost. Go is a battle-tested programming language behind the world’s busiest search engine.

Nevertheless, no language is suited to every job. The product should be the determining factor. We recommend understanding what you’re trying to build before selecting a programming language for a project.

Looking for web developers skilled in Go or different web development technologies? Get in touch with us. We have them all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJvEIjRBSDA&t=5s

 

The post Golang Web Development: When And Why Should You Consider It? appeared first on Blogtrepreneur.

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By: Rylie Holt
Title: Golang Web Development: When And Why Should You Consider It?
Sourced From: www.blogtrepreneur.com/golang-web-development-when-and-why-should-you-consider-it/
Published Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2022 05:58:17 +0000

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