4 ms·

How come Google plays a good part of Go's popularity while the language per se is open-sourced and a fair amount of its contributors don't relate to Google at a

How come Google plays a good part of Go's popularity while the language per se is open-sourced and a fair amount of its contributors don't relate to Google at all? If you had observed what's happening around Go and Google since the language was released, you would have noticed that everything that happens inside Google is due to its creators motivation to push the language into the company rather than Google being "behind it". Dart on the other hand is backed by Google for good. Go? Except Google App Engine, i don't see it.

twic 13y ago
Quite. The idea that Google is "behind" Go is mistaken. The situation is that some people inside Google, some of them quite well-known and influential, are behind Go. There are also people not inside Google who are behind Go, and people who are inside Google who aren't keen on Go. Therefore, Go is certainly not in the same position as things like Chrome or Android, where the company as a whole has a stake in their success.
- DennisP 13y ago
  Well they do support Go on App Engine.
  - xkarga00 13y ago
    They do support Go for Glassware development, too, but these are just exceptions. If you search for jobs in Google you are not going to find any vacancy requiring Go programming, while you can find such vacancies in companies like Soundcloud, Cloudfare, Songkick, or Reuters. Also i would like to see Go natively used for Android development. Then i would probably reconsider the "behind it" statement.
    - rdtsc 13y ago
      The fact that Google blogs about rewriting some of it services in Go internally and it employs full time Go primary creators is worth 100x more than Soundcloud, Cloudfare and Songkick combined job boards.
      - xkarga00 13y ago
        These rewritings have been executed by Go's creators and core developers, not by common programmers. eg. http://talks.golang.org/2013/oscon-dl.slide#1 http://talks.golang.org/2013/oscon-dl.slide#1
        rdtsc 13y ago
        The point is publishing that constitutes good advocacy and implies expected future support for Go. A lot of people given the choice between learning multiple languages will factor a company like Google supporting and using Go in their decision. I am sure if Google published on it blog that it rewrote some of its services in Nimrod, there would be a bump in popularity.
        xkarga00 13y ago
        Of course it is implied that there is future support for Go since there are serious people behind Go who are Google developers but its current popularity comes from various implementations of the language and "rewritings" which are translated into blog posts rather than blog posts per se. I hope the difference i am trying to point out is obvious.
- rdtsc 13y ago
  > The idea that Google is "behind" Go is mistaken. Does Google pay full time salaries and lets primary Go creators work on Go during the day? Does Google blog about implementing and deploying Go based services? Let's just put it this way, Google is a lot more behind Go than it is behind Nimrod. Pretty sure there are developers at Google that like Nimrod but there is night and day difference between associated of Google and Go and Google and Nimrod.
  - xkarga00 13y ago
    "Does Google pay full time salaries and lets primary Go creators work on Go during the day?" Have you ever read any interview or watched any presentation about Go by Rob Pike, Andrew Gerrand, or any other Go/Google engineer? If so, you wouldn't say that so easy. Just browse through Google Jobs and tell me if you find any Go job.
rdtsc 13y ago
> How come Google plays a good part of Go's popularity [...] ? Because it is the perception. It is enough for people to think Google is sponsoring Go to choose Go. They expect continued support and upgrades not a dead forgotten project 3 years down the road. Now how much does Google pay for and support Go, I don't have figures for you, but in this case perception is what matters most. Also, doesn't it pay full time salaries for people who work on Go? Or primary creators work on Go on the weekends and holidays and/or most are not even affiliated with Google?
- xkarga00 13y ago
  "They expect continued support and upgrades not a dead forgotten project 3 years down the road." Go is open sourced for like the last 4 years and has its own separate community. There isn't such a possibility either down or up the road.

twic 13y ago

Quite. The idea that Google is "behind" Go is mistaken. The situation is that some people inside Google, some of them quite well-known and influential, are behind Go. There are also people not inside Google who are behind Go, and people who are inside Google who aren't keen on Go. Therefore, Go is certainly not in the same position as things like Chrome or Android, where the company as a whole has a stake in their success.

DennisP 13y ago
Well they do support Go on App Engine.
- xkarga00 13y ago
  They do support Go for Glassware development, too, but these are just exceptions. If you search for jobs in Google you are not going to find any vacancy requiring Go programming, while you can find such vacancies in companies like Soundcloud, Cloudfare, Songkick, or Reuters. Also i would like to see Go natively used for Android development. Then i would probably reconsider the "behind it" statement.
  - rdtsc 13y ago
    The fact that Google blogs about rewriting some of it services in Go internally and it employs full time Go primary creators is worth 100x more than Soundcloud, Cloudfare and Songkick combined job boards.
    - xkarga00 13y ago
      These rewritings have been executed by Go's creators and core developers, not by common programmers. eg. http://talks.golang.org/2013/oscon-dl.slide#1 http://talks.golang.org/2013/oscon-dl.slide#1
      - rdtsc 13y ago
        The point is publishing that constitutes good advocacy and implies expected future support for Go. A lot of people given the choice between learning multiple languages will factor a company like Google supporting and using Go in their decision. I am sure if Google published on it blog that it rewrote some of its services in Nimrod, there would be a bump in popularity.
        xkarga00 13y ago
        Of course it is implied that there is future support for Go since there are serious people behind Go who are Google developers but its current popularity comes from various implementations of the language and "rewritings" which are translated into blog posts rather than blog posts per se. I hope the difference i am trying to point out is obvious.
rdtsc 13y ago
> The idea that Google is "behind" Go is mistaken. Does Google pay full time salaries and lets primary Go creators work on Go during the day? Does Google blog about implementing and deploying Go based services? Let's just put it this way, Google is a lot more behind Go than it is behind Nimrod. Pretty sure there are developers at Google that like Nimrod but there is night and day difference between associated of Google and Go and Google and Nimrod.
- xkarga00 13y ago
  "Does Google pay full time salaries and lets primary Go creators work on Go during the day?" Have you ever read any interview or watched any presentation about Go by Rob Pike, Andrew Gerrand, or any other Go/Google engineer? If so, you wouldn't say that so easy. Just browse through Google Jobs and tell me if you find any Go job.

rdtsc 13y ago

> How come Google plays a good part of Go's popularity [...] ? Because it is the perception. It is enough for people to think Google is sponsoring Go to choose Go. They expect continued support and upgrades not a dead forgotten project 3 years down the road. Now how much does Google pay for and support Go, I don't have figures for you, but in this case perception is what matters most. Also, doesn't it pay full time salaries for people who work on Go? Or primary creators work on Go on the weekends and holidays and/or most are not even affiliated with Google?

xkarga00 13y ago
"They expect continued support and upgrades not a dead forgotten project 3 years down the road." Go is open sourced for like the last 4 years and has its own separate community. There isn't such a possibility either down or up the road.