This has been one of my frustrations (with a language I otherwise love). If you fail to update for a couple of months and then come back your code is broken. I understand and support why they chose to do it this way though.
I think it's pretty neat that they have a tool (gofix) that can walk your code and rewrite it so it works with changes. This is possible in many languages, but it's pretty impressive for one so young to have it. I guess anything that makes it easier for them to make reasonable changes is good for the language long-term.
I work on Go, and just used gofix to update all the Go code at Google. It was just a few command lines to update many, many files. Gofix will make updating much less painful (for me, it already has).
I agree that it's an issue, however it is nice that they aren't simply going to sit on mistakes that need breaking changes to fix. In some respects it's another aspect of the 'beta' culture at google, which is IMHO a good thing - open it up to public use then fix as you go before switching to a stable model.
maybe but still far away from making any real impact in terms of popularity. maybe Google can take out Java (or Delvik) from Android development and replace with Go. Well, even if they try now it will take a long long while. So realistically I don't see how Go has any future. Google can but some how Google is bad in marketing it's own stuff.
Languages don't reach mainstream popularity overnight. Go has been public for one year. Look at where Java, Python, or even C++ were a year after their release. With that in mind, I think Go is doing pretty well.
An important thing to note is that, while Go is a great general purpose language, we're building it to make systems development easier. That's what we're using it for at Google, and also how it's being used at other companies like Canonical and Atlassian. In that sense Go is already successful.
Go is mainly meant to be used for systems development not application development. It's audience is developers who currently use C/C++ rather than mobile developers coding in Java.
If Go compiles to ARM, there's no reason it couldn't run on Android. Check out the Android NDK; all you need to port is the Java Native Interface. After that, it should be almost as easy as dropping in the next version of GCC, which will support Go.
It's not a full replacement for Java, as most of the APIs are currently inaccessible via the NDK. But it's getting there.
So you're saying that the guys behind C, Unix and Plan9 have nothing to contribute to advancing the field of programming languages?
Comments like this bug me. Sure, some languages aren't terribly different from others, but there's always something new and valuable to be learned from a programming language, even if it's what not to do. At this point in my career, I can switch between languages almost seamlessly. Sure, you spend some time on syntax, but once you understand the concepts behind a language, you're running.
And with Google Go specifically, they're incorporating good ideas that aren't making it to existing languages. The Java guys can't agree on how to do closures, or even if they're a good idea, and the changes to C++ are making it more baroque. It's like they're having a contest to see how many meanings they can have for the const keyword.
I'm excited to see a new language designed by smart people with great track records, incorporating lots of cool new ideas, and from an organization powerful enough to make sure it's done right and supported long term. Is that not good enough for you?
[+] [-] MatthewPhillips|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] supersillyus|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] enneff|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] singular|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|15 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] saidulislam|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] enneff|15 years ago|reply
An important thing to note is that, while Go is a great general purpose language, we're building it to make systems development easier. That's what we're using it for at Google, and also how it's being used at other companies like Canonical and Atlassian. In that sense Go is already successful.
[+] [-] nt|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|15 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] TillE|15 years ago|reply
It's not a full replacement for Java, as most of the APIs are currently inaccessible via the NDK. But it's getting there.
[+] [-] erikb85|15 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] whackberry|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rikthevik|15 years ago|reply
Comments like this bug me. Sure, some languages aren't terribly different from others, but there's always something new and valuable to be learned from a programming language, even if it's what not to do. At this point in my career, I can switch between languages almost seamlessly. Sure, you spend some time on syntax, but once you understand the concepts behind a language, you're running.
And with Google Go specifically, they're incorporating good ideas that aren't making it to existing languages. The Java guys can't agree on how to do closures, or even if they're a good idea, and the changes to C++ are making it more baroque. It's like they're having a contest to see how many meanings they can have for the const keyword.
I'm excited to see a new language designed by smart people with great track records, incorporating lots of cool new ideas, and from an organization powerful enough to make sure it's done right and supported long term. Is that not good enough for you?
[+] [-] joeburke|15 years ago|reply