So you decided you want to pick up the Go programming language and add it to your evergrowing programming toolbelt? Well, first things first, you are probably wondering if GoLang is easy to learn or not. Luckily for you, we are going to explain what makes the GoLang language easy, and what makes it challenging to learn.
Let’s dive in!
Is The GoLang Language Easy To Learn?
Generally speaking, yes, the Go language is very easy to learn. It features a simple and clean syntax and omits many language features present in other languages. Making the overall language much smaller, and easier to learn and understand.
However, since Go is still a lower-level language, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t come with its own challenges. It’s generally assumed that any lower-level language is more difficult to learn than any higher-level language. This is because you normally need to have knowledge of pointers & references, manual garbage collection, and obscure error messages.
Luckily, GoLang makes these concepts easier to understand or omits them completely. However, if you don’t come from a C/C++ or lower-level programming background, it will still be a learning curve.
Go also features a very simple type system. The type system consists of primitives, interfaces, structs, pointers (only need to ensure you don’t evoke null pointers), and composite types! The language also has fewer language features, making it smaller and quicker to learn.
Is GoLang Easier Than C++?
GoLang is certainly easier to learn than C++. In fact, google created Go with the sole purpose of being a simpler alternative to C++. A language that their junior devs could easily pick up and be productive with within a fraction of the time. If you didn’t know, C and C++ can be pretty time-consuming to learn, despite their simple syntax.
GoLang has a similar syntax to C but with a lot of added benefits, such as built-in strings, garbage collection, and a big standard library. If you’re a new developer and wondering if you should learn C or Go first, Go is certainly the easier option.
Is GoLang Easier Than Python?
Now is GoLang easier than Python? Maybe people assume that Python is easier than GoLang. I mean, Python is a very easy language to learn; mainly for its duck typing abilities and syntactical sugar.
However, Python really doesn’t guide you into writing good code. On the contrary, Go is very opinionated. It attempts to force you into writing good code, unlike Python.
Keep in mind, that you do need to understand these lower-level concepts in GoLang, along with static-type systems. However, I believe these are really good concepts to learn early and will make your transition into a professional programmer much easier. In my opinion, any programmer that doesn’t know low-level programming isn’t a true programmer!
For that reason, I think that GoLang can be a bit harder to learn than Python, but I would highly recommend learning Go over Python if you simply want to learn how to code.
Summary
So, to answer your question, yes GoLang is an easy programming language to learn. It is true that Go is a lower-level programming language with more to keep in mind than higher-level languages like Python and JavaScript. However, it was built with simplicity as the primary design aspect and is currently the easiest lower-level programming language to learn. So don’t fear GoLang! Go out there and start learning the language today.
In addition, if you are a new programmer looking to get into web development, check out this resource.
