Should you use Golang? Advantages, Disadvantages & Examples

Go quickly became popular with many developers due to its simplicity, efficiency, readability, and concurrent nature. As of June 2022, it ranks in 12th place in the TIOBE index, with more and more people switching from other languages such as PHP or Node.js. On the promise of code efficiency, companies that recognize the need for lean and efficient code have adopted Golang as their primary programming language.

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It quickly became popular among developers due to its simplicity, efficiency, readability, and built-in support for concurrency. Today, it is widely used for backend development, cloud infrastructure, microservices, DevOps tools, and distributed systems. Companies that prioritize performance and scalability have increasingly adopted Golang for production applications.

What is Go?

Go, or Golang, is a statically typed, open-source programming language developed by Google. It is designed for simplicity, performance, and scalability, making it ideal for building efficient, concurrent applications like web services and cloud-based software.

What Is Golang Used For?

Golang is usually used for:

• Web Development: Building high-performance web services and APIs.
• Cloud Computing: Developing scalable and efficient cloud-based applications.
• DevOps Tools: Creating infrastructure and automation tools.
• Microservices: Designing lightweight and maintainable microservices architectures.
• Networking: Building high-concurrency networking tools and applications.
• Distributed Systems: Developing robust and fault-tolerant distributed systems.

When Should You Use Golang?

Golang is particularly well suited for applications where performance, concurrency, scalability, and efficient resource usage are important. Its simple syntax and built-in concurrency features make it a strong option for teams building systems that need to handle many operations simultaneously.

Some common scenarios where Go can be a good choice include:

• Backend services and APIs: Go's performance and straightforward approach make it well suited for building fast, maintainable backend systems.‍
• Microservices: Its lightweight runtime and fast startup times work well for distributed architectures composed of independent services. If you're exploring this approach, learn more about how microservices architecture works and its current best practices.
• ‍Cloud-native applications: Go is widely used across cloud infrastructure and container ecosystems, making it a natural fit for modern cloud environments.‍
• DevOps and infrastructure tools: Its portability and ability to compile into standalone binaries simplify deployment across different environments.‍
• High-concurrency applications: Goroutines and channels make it easier to build applications that need to manage many simultaneous operations.‍
• Distributed systems: Go's networking capabilities and concurrency model make it useful for services that communicate across multiple machines or environments.

However, Go is not automatically the best language for every project. The right choice depends on your application's architecture, performance requirements, existing technology stack, and your team's expertise.

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Why you should use Golang: Advantages and Benefits

Making the transition to Golang might be counterintuitive initially, as your code gets longer, but soon it becomes more readable, simple, and stable. Here are some of the top reasons to start using Golang:

Golang = performance

Golang is a compiled language, meaning code compiles into a format the processor understands. Other languages, such as Java, require the code to be compiled into bytecode to be executed by the virtual machine.

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As a compiled language, Go can deliver strong runtime performance with relatively low resource usage. Its performance characteristics make it particularly well suited for backend services, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and other applications where efficiency and scalability matter.

Easy Learning Curve

Software developers with a solid foundation in Java or C should consider learning Golang; while the keywords and syntax may differ slightly due to its same procedural approach, it is easy to familiarize themselves with Go. Software developers with a solid foundation in languages such as Java or C often find Go relatively easy to learn. It' intentionally small language specification, straightforward syntax, and emphasis on readability can make it easier for developers to become productive quickly.

Well documented with an Active Community

Golang's official documentation is a comprehensive resource for developers, and the language has an active open-source community. This makes it easier to find libraries, tools, examples, and support when building with Go.

Golang is ideal for many diverse scenarios

Being a multipurpose programming language, Golang is ideal for projects involving data science, web development, cloud computing, media platforms, streaming, and more.

Golang Is Well-Scaled

One of Golang's many strengths, Goroutines, are functions that can run independently and simultaneously, giving Go its ability to support concurrency efficiently. Lean software is always a good idea and puts your business one step ahead of its competitors. Taking up no more than 2kB of memory, Goroutines make applications built with Golang scalable when it's time to run multiple concurrent processes. While Java's thread, blocking by design, is a memory-hungry heavyweight, Golang's Goroutines are non-blocking, making it technically possible to run millions of them without risking crashing the system. Also, less demanding system requirements translate into better support for older devices to enjoy Go-based apps.

Comprehensive Programming Tools

GitHub repository for Go is filled with various editors, IDEs, and plugins that you can download, while for those who prefer working on the go, a handful of cloud-based IDEs are also available. Being an open-source initiative, getting the proper development tools for your team will not be a concern. On top of an easy learning curve and friendlier code that's easier to learn, developers who chose Golang have several valuable tools to work with:

• GoDoc generating cross-referenced documentation automatically from code is made possible with GoDoc. 
• GoMetaLinter brings developers the tools to analyze their code efficiently and in detail with the ability to create LR parsers for a more in-depth breakdown.
• Golang's simple API lets developers manage the environments necessary for easy testing and profiling.
• Race conditions associated with creating multi-threaded applications are easily identified using Golangs built-in Race detector.

Golang Cons: why shouldn't you use Go?

Despite its advantages mentioned above, growing adoption, and popularity, Golang is not a perfect programming language. Developers should consider some disadvantages before using or migrating to Go.

Time Consuming

Golang is not as descriptive as Python or other strictly compiled languages. While a similar function might be invoked with only a couple of lines in Python, a developer may need to code dozens of lines to accomplish the same task in Go. When rushing against a deadline, this extra coding time might prove to be an obstacle for teams. 

Smaller Ecosystem for Some Use Cases

Go has a strong ecosystem for backend development, cloud infrastructure, networking, and DevOps. However, its library ecosystem can be less extensive than those of more established languages in certain specialized areas, which may require teams to build additional functionality themselves.

Smaller (but growing) Community Compared To Other Languages

Because of the age of this language, the community of this language may not be as large as in other languages out there, which means there could be less development and fewer packages/projects for this specific language. 

Fewer Tutorials Than Other Languages

Finally, because of the smaller community, there are substantially fewer tutorials and documentation than in other programming languages. 

Golang Advantages and Disadvantages

Golang offers a strong combination of performance, simplicity, and concurrency, but like any programming language, it also comes with trade-offs. Here's a quick comparison of its main advantages and disadvantages.

What type of projects is Golang recommended for?

Coding in Golang takes more time than doing so in other languages, so if you're running a small startup, it may be wiser to spend this time on other areas of your business. Nevertheless, as soon as user experience appears affected by the performance of your current code, making the transition to Go would be the right course of action. Coping with the volume of transactions, requests, and general activity that comes with a growing number of users is standard for more developed startups. For production servers under an intense workload and heavy demands, Golang might be the perfect fit. 

Some specific examples of Golang´s successful adoption include: 

• ‍Cloud services providers: Popular cloud storage provider with over 500 million users, Dropbox uses it to manage its network, while Golang's creator itself, Google, relies on Go for its cloud infrastructure.
• ‍Media platforms: Two of the media heavyweights of the industry, YouTube and Netflix, use Go to manage the intense load on their services.
• ‍Online on-demand services: Reducing the time it took to provide its users with service was vital for Uber, which relied on Go to improve map processing speeds when users loaded geofence lookups.
• ‍Distributed Network Services: APIs, web servers, and frameworks for web applications need to handle concurrency efficiently. Golang's goroutines and channels are an ideal solution for developing network services.
• ‍Cloud-Native Development: High portability across various platforms, concurrency, and networking features position Go as an ideal language for cloud computing. Kubernetes, like many popular cloud platforms, was built with Go.
• ‍Replacements for Existing Infrastructure: In an attempt to modernize protocols and interfaces that had become obsolete over time, many old infrastructures were rewritten using Go. A new version of an internet protocol for clock synchronization among networks (NTP - the Network Time Protocol) was built on Go. 
• ‍News Outlets: In use on the BBC site's backend, it was likely Go's capacity to optimize CPU usage that defined its adoption when managing a massive multimedia website. 
• ‍Utilities and Stand-Alone Tools: When building small tools, Golang's full functionality with almost no dependencies makes it ideal for efficient building, packaging, and redistribution.

Is Golang Worth Learning?

For developers interested in backend engineering, cloud computing, DevOps, microservices, or distributed systems, Golang can be a valuable language to learn.

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One of Go's biggest advantages is that its relatively small language specification makes the fundamentals approachable, while its concurrency model introduces developers to concepts that are particularly relevant when building scalable systems.

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Learning Go can also be valuable for developers working with modern infrastructure technologies. If you're interested in containerized development environments, our Docker vs. Rancher comparison explores two popular tools used in modern development workflows.

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For companies, however, the decision is slightly different. Choosing Golang should depend on whether its strengths match the technical requirements of the product, including expected traffic, concurrency needs, infrastructure, scalability, and long-term maintainability.

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Companies that need additional backend expertise can also use staff augmentation services to add experienced engineers to their existing development teams.

Wrap up

Google created Golang as an answer to software issues of scalability, where hardware resources quickly become a limitation. While Go is a promising programming language, it is also a relatively young one and has yet to prove itself in building every type of application. Go's main strength is its effectiveness in dealing with bottleneck issues in processing time. Migrating to Golang is a wise option if you're planning on expanding e-commerce functionalities on your existing business or offering on-demand services. Adopting Go means avoiding the performance constraints often faced by thread-based programming languages. By allowing you to carry out all functions that other languages do separately, Golang establishes itself as the future of web programming.

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Reading code previously written by its creators is one of the daily struggles developers encounter when dealing with new features and software growth. Golang´s easy-to-read code and beginner-friendly learning curve minimize time spent understanding previous code.

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If you're anticipating a surge in service demands that will crash the existing infrastructure capacity of your business, migrating to Golang is probably the best course of action, as Golang is ideal for companies with predictable growth who rely on quick server responses.

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With Golang being one of the most in-demand programming languages on the market, the question should not be, why should you use Golang, but rather when to start using it. 

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Considering Golang for your next project or planning a migration? Devane helps companies build and scale backend systems with experienced engineers across Go, cloud, microservices, and distributed architectures. Our staff augmentation services can also help you add senior Golang developers to your existing engineering team when you need specialized expertise or additional capacity.