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Introduction to Go

Welcome to the Go programming language documentation! Go, also known as Golang, is an open-source programming language designed for simplicity, reliability, and efficiency. It was created by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson at Google and first released in 2009.

Why Go?​

Go is known for several key features that make it a great choice for modern software development:

  • Simplicity: Go's syntax is clean and easy to understand, making it accessible for beginners while still being powerful for experienced developers.
  • Performance: Go is a compiled language that offers the performance of C or C++ with the simplicity of a high-level language.
  • Concurrency: Go has built-in support for concurrent programming with goroutines and channels, making it easy to build scalable and efficient applications.
  • Standard Library: Go comes with a rich standard library that provides many useful packages for a wide range of applications, from web development to cryptography.
  • Tooling: Go has excellent tooling, including a fast compiler, a powerful testing framework, and a built-in formatter that enforces a consistent code style.

Getting Started​

To get started with Go, you'll need to install it on your machine. You can download the latest version of Go from the official Go website. Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Once you have Go installed, you can verify your installation by opening a terminal and typing:

go version