Difference between revisions of "Go"

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(Updated info for 2012, we now have a stable v1 and it runs on Windows)
 
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'''Go''' is a programming language announced by Google in November 2009. It is a native-code compiled, garbage-collected, concurrent language. The design idea seems to be to make a modernized version of C. Version 1 of Go was released in March 2012, and should be a stable target for future applications.
{{Programming language| name = Go
|company = Google
|influences = C, Pascal, Python, Smalltalk
|updated = 2021-02-16 (1.16)
|status = Stable
|licensing = Open Source (BSD-style)
|platforms = Linux, OS X, Windows, FreeBSD, Plan 9, Solaris
|site = http://golang.org/}}


== Roguelike Issues ==


Go has several modern programming features, such as garbage collection and closures, which help when developing roguelikes. It has a reasonably simple duck-typing-based object system, which is clean, but doesn't necessarily match the complex problem of roguelike data modeling. The concurrent features aren't much needed in main roguelike logic, which is generally very sequential, but can help when programming an user interface that runs asynchronously with the game logic.
Go (or ''golang'') is a general-purpose, statically typed compiled language, with garbage-collection and explicit support for concurrent programming, that has been created at Google by Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer since 2007. It was born from the developers' frustration with developing concurrent server applications with C++.


Go has two compilers, the standalone '''gc''' one and a GCC front-end '''gccgo'''. The official GCC distribution has included the Go front end since version 4.6. The '''gc''' toolchain supports Linux, BSD, OS X and Windows on x86-32 or x86-64. As of 2012-07, there is some ARM support, but it's unclear how feasible developing Go applications for ARM devices running Android would be.
First announced at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKnDgT73v8s Google Tech Talks] (YouTube), in October 2009, version 1.0.0 was released in March 2012, and they currently follow a 6 month release cycle, with new major versions being released on February 1 and August 1, so the language should be a stable target for future applications.


There is FFI support for linking to external C libraries like [[SDL]] or [[Curses]]. Calling C code from Go is reasonably straightforward.
== Roguelike Development ==
 
Go has a number of features that can be desirable to the roguelike developer:
 
* Easy to learn - a simple language with a small number of keywords.
* Garbage Collection.
* Fast - faster than Java in most use cases [https://benchmarksgame-team.pages.debian.net/benchmarksgame/fastest/go.html (citation)], considerably faster than Python.
* Super fast compile speeds - often just a few seconds, which compared to compiling C++ code, is several orders of magnitude faster.
* Compiles to a native OS binary, allowing you to keep you source code private.
 
The language has a reasonably simple duck-typing-based interface system, which can lead to very clean reusable code.
 
The concurrent features such as channels and goroutines are powerful, but often are not much needed in main roguelike logic, which is generally very sequential. That said, several areas could gain some benefits, such as game initialisation, dungeon generation, user interface, and other features that can run asynchronously with the game logic.
 
One of the more recent additions to the language that may bring great benefits to roguelike developers is the ability to cross compile for different OS. This means that a game being developed on a macOS system, can compile for Windows and Linux without the need to boot into those operating systems. In the future it will also be possible to use Go to target Android devices.
 
There is also good FFI support for linking to external C libraries like SDL and Curses. Calling C code from Go is reasonably straightforward.  
 
For Go developers who wish to use Curses, there is the [https://github.com/rthornton128/goncurses goncurses] library, however a good alternative is the excellent [https://github.com/nsf/termbox-go Termbox-Go], which provides a cross platform lightweight ncurses-like API written in pure Go.
 
[http://foo.wyrd.name/en:bearlibterminal/ BearLibTerminal] is compact, display-centered API for roguelike developers. It supports Go bindings officially.
 
If you don't want to rely on a binding or stay in the terminal you can try out [[ramen]]. It's a simple console emulator written go and inspired by libtcod.
 
You can also try the [[gruid]] framework that offers terminal, SDL2 and browser drivers. It provides many additional features, such as pathfinding, FOV and map generation.
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}


== Related Links ==
== Related Links ==


* [http://golang.org/ Official Go website]
* [https://tour.golang.org/ A Tour of Go at golang.org]
* [http://go-lang.cat-v.org/ Go Programming Language Resources at cat-v.org]
* [https://golang.org/doc/code.html How to Write Go Code at golang.org]
* [https://golang.org/doc/effective_go.html Effective Go at golang.org]


[[Category:Programming languages]]
[[Category:Programming languages]]

Latest revision as of 15:41, 5 January 2023

Go
Programming Language
Company Google
Influences C, Pascal, Python, Smalltalk
Updated 2021-02-16 (1.16)
Status Stable
Licensing Open Source (BSD-style)
Platforms Linux, OS X, Windows, FreeBSD, Plan 9, Solaris
Official site of Go



Go (or golang) is a general-purpose, statically typed compiled language, with garbage-collection and explicit support for concurrent programming, that has been created at Google by Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer since 2007. It was born from the developers' frustration with developing concurrent server applications with C++.

First announced at Google Tech Talks (YouTube), in October 2009, version 1.0.0 was released in March 2012, and they currently follow a 6 month release cycle, with new major versions being released on February 1 and August 1, so the language should be a stable target for future applications.

Roguelike Development

Go has a number of features that can be desirable to the roguelike developer:

  • Easy to learn - a simple language with a small number of keywords.
  • Garbage Collection.
  • Fast - faster than Java in most use cases (citation), considerably faster than Python.
  • Super fast compile speeds - often just a few seconds, which compared to compiling C++ code, is several orders of magnitude faster.
  • Compiles to a native OS binary, allowing you to keep you source code private.

The language has a reasonably simple duck-typing-based interface system, which can lead to very clean reusable code.

The concurrent features such as channels and goroutines are powerful, but often are not much needed in main roguelike logic, which is generally very sequential. That said, several areas could gain some benefits, such as game initialisation, dungeon generation, user interface, and other features that can run asynchronously with the game logic.

One of the more recent additions to the language that may bring great benefits to roguelike developers is the ability to cross compile for different OS. This means that a game being developed on a macOS system, can compile for Windows and Linux without the need to boot into those operating systems. In the future it will also be possible to use Go to target Android devices.

There is also good FFI support for linking to external C libraries like SDL and Curses. Calling C code from Go is reasonably straightforward.

For Go developers who wish to use Curses, there is the goncurses library, however a good alternative is the excellent Termbox-Go, which provides a cross platform lightweight ncurses-like API written in pure Go.

BearLibTerminal is compact, display-centered API for roguelike developers. It supports Go bindings officially.

If you don't want to rely on a binding or stay in the terminal you can try out ramen. It's a simple console emulator written go and inspired by libtcod.

You can also try the gruid framework that offers terminal, SDL2 and browser drivers. It provides many additional features, such as pathfinding, FOV and map generation.

References

Template:Reflist

Related Links