Get Started with Go #

Setup #

Go can be installed from: https://go.dev/doc/install

Once installed, you can check the version:

go version

1. Project Initialization #

Create a new folder for your project and move into it:

mkdir hello
cd hello

Initialize a Go module:

go mod init example/hello

This creates a go.mod file which defines your module name and will store dependency information.

2. Running a Go File #

Create a main.go file with:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
}

Run the program:

go run .

3. Installing and using Libraries #

Edit main.go to use an external package:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "rsc.io/quote"
)

func main() {
    fmt.Println(quote.Go())
}

Tell Go to resolve and download dependencies:

go mod tidy

This will:

• Add the rsc.io/quote module to go.mod
• Create or update go.sum with checksums

Run the program again:

go run .

You should see a Go-related quote printed.

4. Formatting Your Code #

Go has a built-in formatter so your code style is consistent:

# Format the current package
go fmt

When Getting Back to a Project #

When you return to an existing Go project:

cd hello

# Make sure dependencies are up to date
go mod tidy

# Run your program
go run .

Go will automatically download any missing dependencies defined in go.mod.