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Go has always looked interesting to me, but I don't understand why Google hasn't put go on Android yet. It seems like a better long term solution for Google tha

Go has always looked interesting to me, but I don't understand why Google hasn't put go on Android yet. It seems like a better long term solution for Google than Java is for just about everything, but maybe it's not.

shurcooL 13y ago
I can't wait for that to happen. I might just get an Android device and start developing for it when it does. I think it will happen eventually. The language is new, but it's having a lot of success and spreading both within Google and outside.
chimeracoder 13y ago
I've asked this question of a number of core Go contributors. First, I should point out that you CAN currently run Go programs on an Android device. You just can't take advantage of the SDK and make GUI-based applications, etc.[0] Basically, the answer is that nothing's preventing anybody (including you and me) from doing so, except the fact that we would have to wrap the entire NDK and make it available/usable through Go. That's not any more difficult to do in Go than it is to do in Java, but it's a massive amount of work which has already been solved for Java, so there's little incentive to recreate it in Go. (I'm paraphrasing, so my answer may be slightly wrong, but hopefully you get the idea - perhaps @enneff can give a more complete answer). [0] You can, however, bundle them as hybrid applications, because Android applications apparently allow bundling of arbitrary binaries, from what I've been told.
- myko 13y ago
  Yep! Brad Fitzpatrick posted an example of bundling a Go executable within an Android apk somewhat recently: https://plus.google.com/115863474911002159675/posts/DWmyygSrvt7 https://plus.google.com/115863474911002159675/posts/DWmyygSr...
melling 13y ago
Considering that Dalvik isn't very fast, Go might be a much better solution on phones and tablets.
- sgt 13y ago
  I was under the impression Dalvik is pretty fast? Please elaborate, if possible.
  - pdw 13y ago
    I believe Dalvik's interpreter is very fast compared to Java interpreters. But its JIT is optimized for low startup cost and low memory usage, and as a result it's relatively slow. Though it might have improved in recent releases.
tptacek 13y ago
I like that it's not on Android right now. It's one of the things that makes me think Golang is a real language and not a corporate initiative.
- jimmaswell 13y ago
  "real languages" can't be corporate initiatives?
  - 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
    No, "real languages" can be corporate initiatives.
- mh- 13y ago
  what does that even mean? it sounds like "golang got too mainstream, it sold out to the man." but, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that there's an intelligent comment here
  - tptacek 13y ago
    No, it's nothing like that.
  - B-Con 13y ago
    It doesn't sound like that whatsoever. Here's what I interpreted: "If Google were pushing Go and it were on Android, it may feel as though Go's goal was political, ie another way for Google to assert control over the development process and bring people under their umbrella. "Given that Go isn't on Android, it feels more like Google is trying to contribute a useful tool than push an agenda." You may disagree, but that's what was implied.
gw 13y ago
If Google offers official support for a second language on Android, it will almost certainly be another JVM based language like Scala or (my personal dream) Clojure. They can already be used to write native apps, and would allow Google to continue to use Dalvik and the all the tooling surrounding it, which they've invested a tremendous amount of resources in.

shurcooL 13y ago

I can't wait for that to happen. I might just get an Android device and start developing for it when it does. I think it will happen eventually. The language is new, but it's having a lot of success and spreading both within Google and outside.

chimeracoder 13y ago

I've asked this question of a number of core Go contributors. First, I should point out that you CAN currently run Go programs on an Android device. You just can't take advantage of the SDK and make GUI-based applications, etc.[0] Basically, the answer is that nothing's preventing anybody (including you and me) from doing so, except the fact that we would have to wrap the entire NDK and make it available/usable through Go. That's not any more difficult to do in Go than it is to do in Java, but it's a massive amount of work which has already been solved for Java, so there's little incentive to recreate it in Go. (I'm paraphrasing, so my answer may be slightly wrong, but hopefully you get the idea - perhaps @enneff can give a more complete answer). [0] You can, however, bundle them as hybrid applications, because Android applications apparently allow bundling of arbitrary binaries, from what I've been told.

myko 13y ago
Yep! Brad Fitzpatrick posted an example of bundling a Go executable within an Android apk somewhat recently: https://plus.google.com/115863474911002159675/posts/DWmyygSrvt7 https://plus.google.com/115863474911002159675/posts/DWmyygSr...

melling 13y ago

Considering that Dalvik isn't very fast, Go might be a much better solution on phones and tablets.

sgt 13y ago
I was under the impression Dalvik is pretty fast? Please elaborate, if possible.
- pdw 13y ago
  I believe Dalvik's interpreter is very fast compared to Java interpreters. But its JIT is optimized for low startup cost and low memory usage, and as a result it's relatively slow. Though it might have improved in recent releases.

tptacek 13y ago

I like that it's not on Android right now. It's one of the things that makes me think Golang is a real language and not a corporate initiative.

jimmaswell 13y ago
"real languages" can't be corporate initiatives?
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 13y ago
  No, "real languages" can be corporate initiatives.
mh- 13y ago
what does that even mean? it sounds like "golang got too mainstream, it sold out to the man." but, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that there's an intelligent comment here
- tptacek 13y ago
  No, it's nothing like that.
- B-Con 13y ago
  It doesn't sound like that whatsoever. Here's what I interpreted: "If Google were pushing Go and it were on Android, it may feel as though Go's goal was political, ie another way for Google to assert control over the development process and bring people under their umbrella. "Given that Go isn't on Android, it feels more like Google is trying to contribute a useful tool than push an agenda." You may disagree, but that's what was implied.

gw 13y ago

If Google offers official support for a second language on Android, it will almost certainly be another JVM based language like Scala or (my personal dream) Clojure. They can already be used to write native apps, and would allow Google to continue to use Dalvik and the all the tooling surrounding it, which they've invested a tremendous amount of resources in.