23 of the Best Golang Interview Questions

When it comes to Golang, what would be the optimal interview questions to ask in 2023?

Introduced in 2009, Golang (Go) has grown in popularity thanks to its efficiency and ease of use. This language boasts impressive concurrency support due to goroutines, a unique construct. Additionally, Go has been adopted for cloud computing and the development of real-time applications, including media portals and online news platforms.

It comes as no surprise that top digital organizations, such as Uber, Twitch, Dailymotion, Dropbox and more, are seeking out Golang experts. This shows that they understand the potential of this technology and are actively seeking qualified candidates.

If you are searching for excellent interview questions for Golang, you have come to the perfect place.

Best Golang Programming Interview Questions for 2023

Common Golang Interview Questions for Beginners

Is it possible to declare multiple types of variables in a single declaration in Go?

Absolutely. You can separate values with commas and declare multiple types of variables like this:

Is it possible for a function in Go to return multiple values?

Certainly. Similar to the previous question, the key is using comma-separated values:

What are the two forms of string literals supported by Go?

In Go, we can categorize strings into two types:

  • “Raw” string literals do not recognize escape sequences, instead they treat them as normal characters.
  • In interpreted string literals, all escape characters are retained in the printed output.

What are the four Goroutine declarations?

Go manages concurrency with the help of “goroutines,” lightweight threads of execution that can run simultaneously with other routines. The main goroutine serves as the starting point for all other goroutines.

As an example:

If the sleep line is left out or commented, it’s possible for the function to not complete its execution before the main function finishes.

The issue has arisen because the main function is no longer active and consequently, the primary goroutine has completed, which implies that all secondary goroutines have also finished.

What exactly is a pointer and how is it utilized in Go?

Pointers are utilized in computer programming to store the memory address of other variables.

In Go, a pointer can be used with two different operators:

  • The dereferencing operator, denoted by an asterisk (*), is utilized to retrieve data stored at the location pointed by the pointer.
  • The address operator, represented by an ampersand (&), is employed to determine the memory address of a variable.

Let’s take a look at an example:

Intermediate Level Questions for Golang Developers

What is the fastest method to swap two values in Go?

In summary, you can simply use comma-separated values to achieve this.

Let’s take an example:

Can parameters be made optional in Go?

No, to replicate this behaviour, you would need to utilize advanced data structures such as arrays and maps, or employ variadic functions.

Functions that can accept numerous arguments of a particular type are identified as “variadic.”

Let’s examine a simple example:

Does Go have an equivalent of foreach?

Not exactly, but with the help of the “range” keyword, a for loop can be modified to accomplish the required task.

Take a look at this basic example:

What is the method to check whether a particular key exists in a map?

Searching for a map entry using a key returns a boolean value indicating whether the entry was successfully found or not.

The returned value can be used to establish if the key was present in the map or not. Here’s a quick example:

What is the purpose of having two different equal signs, = and :=, in Go?

To declare and assign values to variables, it is recommended to use := rather than = which is used solely for assignment.

Both of these can be used interchangeably:

Once a variable has been declared, the := operator can no longer be used to modify its value; instead, the = sign must be used for assignment.

Common Golang Interview Questions for Professionals

To assist you in preparing for your upcoming Golang interview, we have put together a collection of frequently asked questions.

What is the method to ascertain the type of an object in Go?

In Go, you can determine the data type of a variable by utilizing the reflection package.

Which variable is preferable between $GOROOT and $GOPATH in Go?

The $GOROOT variable contains the path to your Go SDK. It should not be altered unless you are changing the Go version.

By using the $GOPATH environment variable, you can specify the initial directory of your working environment. Go is a folder in the user’s home directory (%USERPROFILE% on Windows, /go on Linux and MacOS). This directory usually includes the following subdirectories:

  • Src/ is where you can locate the original source files of the programs.
  • The precompiled package code can be accessed at the pkg/ directory.
  • bin/: includes the executable file that has been compiled using Go for the project.

What is the purpose of the init() function in Go?

In Go programming language, the init() function is executed when a package has been imported and all variable declarations have been evaluated. Multiple init() functions can be defined in a file, and they will be executed in the order specified. The main() function will only run once all the init() functions have finished executing.

The two most significant points are:

  • If a function such as performCalculation() is used to initialize a variable, it will be executed before any init() functions are run.
  • Despite being created after main(), the third init() function is executed after main().

What makes the Go compiler exceptionally fast?

Go’s excellent dependency analysis negates the necessity for C-style include files and libraries, leading to faster compilation times.

What is the use of tags in Go?

In Go, tags can be used to annotate fields with information that can be accessed and utilized through reflection. These tags consist of key-value pairs, which can offer additional information about a field. This extra information can help identify how the field is intended to be used in different situations.

The Go Compiler: An Online Environment for Developing Go Programs

The Golang Playground is a useful interactive tool for running examples and incorporating them into your own testing. It’s a fantastic online compiler to experiment with the language or showcase a few lines of code to colleagues. It can be used for both developing and testing Go programs.

Wrapping Up the Golang Interview Questions

These Golang interview questions can assist you in quickly and accurately evaluating a candidate’s preparedness for the position you are hiring for. By conducting a coding challenge related to your organization’s operations, you can quickly identify a pool of qualified Golang developers to choose from.

If your company requires experienced Golang developers, Works can offer the necessary assistance. We have a vast pool of skilled individuals and pledge to match your organization with a suitable developer who meets both the job requirements and the company culture. You can trust us to find and hire the ideal team of engineers. Please feel free to contact us.

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