Is Go The Right Choice for Building a Backend?

Go, also known as Golang, was developed by Google in 2007 to address the needs of backend development with features like simplicity, robust concurrency support, and efficient performance. Designed by notable computer scientists Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer, Go was created as a statically typed, compiled language that enhances productivity, especially in high-load systems. Its features, such as fast compilation, efficient concurrency via Goroutines, and a comprehensive standard library, make it well-suited for backend applications. Although lacking some traditional object-oriented abstractions and having a verbose error-handling model, Go offers advantages in deployment with its single executable file approach. Despite being newer than languages like Java and Python, and still maturing, Go has been adopted by major companies for its capability to handle large-scale applications effectively. The language's real-world application is exemplified by companies like Stream, which transitioned from Python to Go to achieve significant performance improvements. However, potential adopters should consider factors like existing team expertise and project requirements before switching to Go.