The world of web development sees the launch of fresh languages, frameworks and libraries every year, all aimed at improving productivity. Golang, developed by Google, has established itself as the preferred option for numerous innovative projects, mainly because of its superiority over Python, C and other similar languages. Hence, it is no surprise that Golang web development is gaining popularity.
The upcoming section delves into the advantages of engaging a GO programmer for your next Golang web development project. It also highlights the top frameworks for coding in Golang, along with its pros and cons, among other aspects.
Let’s start with the basics – an introduction to Golang for the uninitiated.
Golang, created by Google, is a statically-typed, compiled programming language. In contrast to dynamic languages, static languages undergo type verification before compilation.
Golang is a framework that amalgamates the top traits of a range of other frameworks, such as C, Python, and JavaScript. While C# boasts static typing and runtime, the syntax of Python and JavaScript is quite simple. Over the past decade, Go has gone through multiple enhancements and augmentations, positioning it as a potent substitute for other languages.
Top-notch Web Frameworks
Before delving into the best Golang web frameworks, it’s essential to address the question of whether or not web frameworks are necessary.
The primary objective behind developing the Go programming language was to provide a simple language. As a result, external web frameworks are not mandatory for building a website or web application in Go.
Despite this, leveraging a web framework boasts of several perks, including enhanced productivity, a streamlined codebase, and access to numerous libraries and tools.
Based on your needs, you can select from five exceptional Golang web frameworks:
Gin
Gin, a Golang web framework, is widely acknowledged and extensively leveraged for microservice development. With 5400+ favourable reviews on GitHub, it’s evident that Gin is a reliable option. Its primary strengths revolve around its exceptional ability to manage errors, deliver high performance, and establish a concrete base for developing custom middleware.
Echo
Echo is a relatively new Golang web framework, but it has already established itself as a triumph, with over 20,000 GitHub users giving it a five-star rating. If you plan to develop APIs from scratch, Echo’s comprehensive and coherent documentation makes it an excellent choice. Furthermore, it works flawlessly with HTTP/2 and allows developers to tailor their own middleware.
Beego
Beego, a Go framework, is famous for its ability to facilitate swift development of enterprise-grade web applications. It is comprised of four central modules, namely a web server, tasks, and client applications. Its noteworthy traits include compatibility with enterprise applications and namespace routing. Like leading frameworks such as Django, Beego utilises the Model-View-Controller architecture to govern the different aspects of program development.
Iris
More than 20,000 individuals have voted for Iris, a web framework written in GO, on GitHub. For those familiar with Node.js, this is an outstanding option since it is comparable to Express.js. Iris is famous for its defining features, which include a logger for printing and recording server requests, support for Model-View-Controller (MVC), boosted performance due to compression, and seamless integration with other libraries.
Fiber
Fibre, akin to Iris, is a web framework that is similar to Express.js in many ways. Its vast routing capacity and minimal memory consumption are two of its primary benefits. This framework presents developers with a plethora of effective features, including configurable rate limiting, support for different middleware, and the ability to create and maintain bidirectional TCP connections via WebSocket.
What Kind of Web Applications Can You Develop with Go?
Golang can be utilised to build numerous web applications with ease. In particular, Golang is highly effective in addressing such issues.
Cloud-Hosted Technology
Thanks to its scalability, parallelism, and the capacity to establish user-friendly APIs, Go is an excellent choice for building cloud-based service applications. In recent years, Go has emerged as Google’s main programming language for cloud computing services. Even popular cloud systems such as Docker, Dropbox, and Terraform employ Go in their operations.
On-Demand Services
Golang is ideal for developing highly efficient applications that can handle a substantial number of concurrent requests. Services like Uber and Twitch must process and manage vast amounts of data at an extremely high speed, receiving hundreds of requests per second.
Social Networking Websites
Golang’s ability to scale and handle a massive quantity of concurrent requests makes it a perfect fit for social networking platforms. Golang serves as the primary language for a variety of social networks, including video-sharing sites such as YouTube, audio-sharing services like SoundCloud, and streaming video service Netflix.
Benefits of Golang in Web Development
Although Go is commonly applied to server-side scripting, it can also be used to build front-end web application frameworks. Consequently, it is a versatile language for web development.
Now, let’s take a look at what makes this language so ideal in web development:
User-Friendliness
One significant advantage of Go is its user-friendliness, rendering it a desirable option for backend development. It prioritizes legibility and maintainability over features, resulting in enhancements that primarily improve readability and ease of maintenance.
Concurrency
Concurrency is a crucial technique used in web development which enables applications to leverage a multiprocessor system and cater to multiple user requests concurrently. With built-in concurrency features, building scalable applications with Go is relatively easier.
Robust Standard Library
Accessing a code library can significantly enhance the speed and efficacy of the development process. Though not as extensive as Python or Java libraries, the Golang library provides developers with the majority of necessary packages to develop robust web applications. It’s particularly remarkable that the library is comprehensive, considering the language’s relatively young age of only 12 years.
Whole-System and Internet of Things Programming
Developers can now utilize Go to build cloud-based applications because of its functionality. Moreover, Go is an excellent choice for system-level programming since it can imitate features present in languages like C.
Compilation Speed
Due to its unique advantage of having a fast compiler, many programmers have shifted to Go. Its compilation speed notably exceeds that of other programming languages such as Java and PHP, which has been a key focus of the language’s compiler.
Pros and Cons of Golang in Web Development
Having explored the possibilities of Golang in web development, let’s now evaluate its pros and cons.
Pros
Excellent Performance!
Go has top-notch efficiency and can deliver superior performance compared to Python and Java, given the same hardware. Its statically typed design, akin to C and C++, contributes significantly to its impressive speed.
Easy to Learn
Thanks to its simplistic nature, anyone can learn this programming language, regardless of their prior experience in web development. Additionally, those familiar with Java or C will find its syntax more intuitive. Another advantage is the language’s vast user base, which makes it easier for developers to access Go-specific message boards for support.
If you face any challenges while working with Golang, it’s advisable to seek assistance from various online resources such as Reddit, Stack Overflow, Quora or YouTube. Furthermore, the documentation for Golang is detailed and clear, so it’s always worth referring to it in case of confusion.
Parallel Execution
Utilizing goroutines and channels, Go allows for the parallel execution of program sections enabling computers to work faster with minimal downtime. This feature makes the language an optimal choice for developing applications that require scalability and have rapidly growing user bases.
No Structure Necessary
Thanks to Go’s extensive standard library, it’s possible to develop functional web applications without utilizing any of the available Go frameworks. If you prefer to work independently of pre-existing frameworks, the Go standard library alone is adequate.
All-Encompassing Reference Library
Developers have access to a broad range of tools without the need for external libraries, minimizing potential issues related to conflicting function names.
As an industry leader, Google’s endorsement of Go ensures its longevity, a crucial factor in the project’s ongoing development.
While Go has numerous advantages over other programming languages used in web development, it does possess certain limitations that necessitate discussion.
Cons
Simplicity can have limitations.
Golang’s simplicity, while beneficial, can also hinder its flexibility. While the language is easy to learn, it may lack the versatility of other languages like Swift and Haskell, which are more challenging to master but offer developers a wider range of capabilities, allowing for more efficient work on complex tasks.
Being a relatively recent development places its status as a budding language.
As a newer programming language compared to those that have existed for several decades, one disadvantage is the smaller community support. While Go’s standard library is superior to those of languages like Java and Python, it falls behind its competitors in terms of the quantity of available packages.
Lacking a graphical user interface library.
A significant limitation of Go is the absence of a graphical user interface library. Unlike programming languages like Java and Python, developers must include a library into their program to implement a graphical user interface.
To Sum Up
Go’s numerous advantages over languages like Python, Java, and PHP have drawn considerable attention and have won over many users in recent years.
Over 1.1 million programmers have chosen Go over other languages due to its easy accessibility, scalability, maintainability, and exceptional parallelism. If you’re seeking to hire software engineers for a Golang development project, we’re here to help. We’ll work to provide you with compatible candidates who share your company’s values.
