6 ms·

Go becomes more stable

90 points by ukdm 16y ago

MatthewPhillips 16y ago
This has been one of my frustrations (with a language I otherwise love). If you fail to update for a couple of months and then come back your code is broken. I understand and support why they chose to do it this way though.
- supersillyus 16y ago
  I think it's pretty neat that they have a tool (gofix) that can walk your code and rewrite it so it works with changes. This is possible in many languages, but it's pretty impressive for one so young to have it. I guess anything that makes it easier for them to make reasonable changes is good for the language long-term.
- singular 16y ago
  I agree that it's an issue, however it is nice that they aren't simply going to sit on mistakes that need breaking changes to fix. In some respects it's another aspect of the 'beta' culture at google, which is IMHO a good thing - open it up to public use then fix as you go before switching to a stable model.
- enneff 16y ago
  I work on Go, and just used gofix to update all the Go code at Google. It was just a few command lines to update many, many files. Gofix will make updating much less painful (for me, it already has).
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
saidulislam 16y ago
maybe but still far away from making any real impact in terms of popularity. maybe Google can take out Java (or Delvik) from Android development and replace with Go. Well, even if they try now it will take a long long while. So realistically I don't see how Go has any future. Google can but some how Google is bad in marketing it's own stuff.
- TillE 16y ago
  If Go compiles to ARM, there's no reason it couldn't run on Android. Check out the Android NDK; all you need to port is the Java Native Interface. After that, it should be almost as easy as dropping in the next version of GCC, which will support Go. It's not a full replacement for Java, as most of the APIs are currently inaccessible via the NDK. But it's getting there.
  - singular 16y ago
    It does :) though it's early days with the arm side of things. I'd be surprised if google don't work on specifically making it easy to code in go for NaCl and android.
- nt 16y ago
  Go is mainly meant to be used for systems development not application development. It's audience is developers who currently use C/C++ rather than mobile developers coding in Java.
  - amock 16y ago
    Why couldn't it replace Java? From reading about it and my limited use of it I get the impression that it's meant to be able to replace C or C++ but it's also meant to be used to write applications as a replacement for a language like Java. The libraries and API stability are lacking, but I don't see any language issues that would make it a bad application language.
    - enneff 16y ago
      You're quite right. I think Go will make a great applications language. It's just a matter of library support, which is nascent but rapidly improving.
      - rch 16y ago
        I'd say that you should take your time with interop, and practice isolationism for as long as possible. I don't mind waiting for Go to evolve naturally.
whackberry 16y ago
If you want to work at Google then by all means learn Go. If you don't, then Go makes as much sense as opening yet another McDonalds clone.
- joeburke 16y ago
  Nonsense. If you want to work at Google, learn Java or C++ (but especially Java). And show that you can code.
- rikthevik 16y ago
  So you're saying that the guys behind C, Unix and Plan9 have nothing to contribute to advancing the field of programming languages? Comments like this bug me. Sure, some languages aren't terribly different from others, but there's always something new and valuable to be learned from a programming language, even if it's what not to do. At this point in my career, I can switch between languages almost seamlessly. Sure, you spend some time on syntax, but once you understand the concepts behind a language, you're running. And with Google Go specifically, they're incorporating good ideas that aren't making it to existing languages. The Java guys can't agree on how to do closures, or even if they're a good idea, and the changes to C++ are making it more baroque. It's like they're having a contest to see how many meanings they can have for the const keyword. I'm excited to see a new language designed by smart people with great track records, incorporating lots of cool new ideas, and from an organization powerful enough to make sure it's done right and supported long term. Is that not good enough for you?
erikb85 16y ago
Isn't it Golang that becomes stable? Go is quite stable since, I don't know, over a hundred years... Here and there they tinker a little with the rules. Yes, sometimes they change the komi or find an awesome new joseki, but basically it's quite stable since a long time.

90 points by ukdm 16y ago

This has been one of my frustrations (with a language I otherwise love). If you fail to update for a couple of months and then come back your code is broken. I understand and support why they chose to do it this way though.

supersillyus 16y ago
I think it's pretty neat that they have a tool (gofix) that can walk your code and rewrite it so it works with changes. This is possible in many languages, but it's pretty impressive for one so young to have it. I guess anything that makes it easier for them to make reasonable changes is good for the language long-term.
singular 16y ago
I agree that it's an issue, however it is nice that they aren't simply going to sit on mistakes that need breaking changes to fix. In some respects it's another aspect of the 'beta' culture at google, which is IMHO a good thing - open it up to public use then fix as you go before switching to a stable model.
enneff 16y ago
I work on Go, and just used gofix to update all the Go code at Google. It was just a few command lines to update many, many files. Gofix will make updating much less painful (for me, it already has).
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

saidulislam 16y ago

maybe but still far away from making any real impact in terms of popularity. maybe Google can take out Java (or Delvik) from Android development and replace with Go. Well, even if they try now it will take a long long while. So realistically I don't see how Go has any future. Google can but some how Google is bad in marketing it's own stuff.

TillE 16y ago
If Go compiles to ARM, there's no reason it couldn't run on Android. Check out the Android NDK; all you need to port is the Java Native Interface. After that, it should be almost as easy as dropping in the next version of GCC, which will support Go. It's not a full replacement for Java, as most of the APIs are currently inaccessible via the NDK. But it's getting there.
- singular 16y ago
  It does :) though it's early days with the arm side of things. I'd be surprised if google don't work on specifically making it easy to code in go for NaCl and android.
nt 16y ago
Go is mainly meant to be used for systems development not application development. It's audience is developers who currently use C/C++ rather than mobile developers coding in Java.
- amock 16y ago
  Why couldn't it replace Java? From reading about it and my limited use of it I get the impression that it's meant to be able to replace C or C++ but it's also meant to be used to write applications as a replacement for a language like Java. The libraries and API stability are lacking, but I don't see any language issues that would make it a bad application language.
  - enneff 16y ago
    You're quite right. I think Go will make a great applications language. It's just a matter of library support, which is nascent but rapidly improving.
    - rch 16y ago
      I'd say that you should take your time with interop, and practice isolationism for as long as possible. I don't mind waiting for Go to evolve naturally.

whackberry 16y ago

If you want to work at Google then by all means learn Go. If you don't, then Go makes as much sense as opening yet another McDonalds clone.

joeburke 16y ago
Nonsense. If you want to work at Google, learn Java or C++ (but especially Java). And show that you can code.
rikthevik 16y ago
So you're saying that the guys behind C, Unix and Plan9 have nothing to contribute to advancing the field of programming languages? Comments like this bug me. Sure, some languages aren't terribly different from others, but there's always something new and valuable to be learned from a programming language, even if it's what not to do. At this point in my career, I can switch between languages almost seamlessly. Sure, you spend some time on syntax, but once you understand the concepts behind a language, you're running. And with Google Go specifically, they're incorporating good ideas that aren't making it to existing languages. The Java guys can't agree on how to do closures, or even if they're a good idea, and the changes to C++ are making it more baroque. It's like they're having a contest to see how many meanings they can have for the const keyword. I'm excited to see a new language designed by smart people with great track records, incorporating lots of cool new ideas, and from an organization powerful enough to make sure it's done right and supported long term. Is that not good enough for you?

erikb85 16y ago

Isn't it Golang that becomes stable? Go is quite stable since, I don't know, over a hundred years... Here and there they tinker a little with the rules. Yes, sometimes they change the komi or find an awesome new joseki, but basically it's quite stable since a long time.