A Complete Guide - Installing GoLang and Setting Up Workspace

Complete Examples, Step by Step for Beginners: Installing GoLang and Setting Up Workspace

1. Installing GoLang

For Windows:

1. Download the Installer:

   • Visit the official Go downloads page.
   • Download the latest installer for Windows (e.g., go1.17.windows-amd64.msi).

2. Run the Installer:

   • Double-click the downloaded .msi file.
   • Follow the installation prompts. By default, Go will be installed to C:\Go.

3. Verify Installation:

   • Open the Command Prompt (cmd) and type:

     go version
     

   • You should see something like go version go1.17 windows/amd64, indicating that Go is installed correctly.

For macOS:

1. Download the Installer:

   • Visit the official Go downloads page.
   • Download the latest package for macOS (e.g., go1.17.darwin-amd64.pkg).

2. Run the Installer:

   • Double-click the downloaded .pkg file.
   • Follow the installation prompts.

3. Verify Installation:

   • Open Terminal.
   • Type:

     go version
     

   • You should see output similar to go version go1.17 darwin/amd64.

For Linux:

1. Download the Installer:

   • Visit the official Go downloads page.
   • Download the latest archive for Linux (e.g., go1.17.linux-amd64.tar.gz).

2. Extract the Archive:

   • Open Terminal.
   • If you do not have tar installed, install it using your package manager (e.g., sudo apt-get install tar for Ubuntu).
   • Extract the archive to /usr/local:

     sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf /path/to/go1.17.linux-amd64.tar.gz
     

3. Set up environment:

   • Add /usr/local/go/bin to your $PATH environment variable:

     export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
     

   • To make the change permanent, add the line above to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc file.

4. Verify Installation:

   • In Terminal, type:

     go version
     

   • You should see output like go version go1.17 linux/amd64.

2. Setting Up Workspace

Go requires a specific project structure called a "workspace". It typically has three directories:

• src: Contains Go source files.
• bin: Contains executable files generated by building packages.
• pkg: Contains package objects that speed up future builds. By default, Go uses the GOPATH environment variable to locate this workspace. However, Go 1.11 and later introduced "modules" which allow you to manage dependencies outside of GOPATH. This tutorial will cover both methods.

Setting up Workspace using GOPATH (Old Method):

1. Create a Directory for Your Go Workspace:

   • Choose a location on your computer and create a new directory named goworkspace.

     mkdir goworkspace
     

2. Define GOPATH in Environment Variables:

   • Set GOPATH to the path where you created the workspace directory.
   • For example, if on Unix/Linux/macOS:

     export GOPATH=$HOME/goworkspace
     

   • On Windows Command Prompt, use:

     set GOPATH=C:\goworkspace
     

   • Or in PowerShell:

     $env:GOPATH="C:\goworkspace"
     

3. Set the Path to include GOPATH’s bin:

   • Extend the $PATH environment variable with $GOPATH/bin on Unix/Linux/macOS:

     export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin
     

   • On Windows Command Prompt:

     set PATH=%PATH%;%GOPATH%\bin
     

   • On PowerShell:

     $env:PATH="$env:PATH;$env:GOPATH\bin"
     

4. Create Required Directories in GOPATH:

   • Navigate inside your goworkspace directory:

     cd $GOPATH
     

   • Create the necessary directories:

     mkdir -p src bin pkg
     

5. Verify workspace setup:

   • List all directories to confirm they exist:

     ls
     

   • You should see src, bin, and pkg in the list along with the usual GOOGLE_API_TOKEN, vscode, etc., depending on which operating system you're using.

Setting up Workspace using Modules (New Method, Recommended):

Starting from Go 1.11, modules are a better way to manage dependencies and source code. Below is how to set up your projects without needing a GOPATH.

1. Create a project directory:

   • Choose a location outside of GOPATH:

     mkdir -p ~/projects/hello-go
     cd ~/projects/hello-go
     

2. Initialize a new Go module for your project:

   • Use go mod init <module-name>, replacing <module-name> with the name you choose for your module. Conventionally, this would be your GitHub user name plus the repo name, but any unique identifier works.

     go mod init github.com/myusername/hello-go
     

   • This creates a go.mod file which holds metadata about the module.

3. Verify module setup:

   • Check the go.mod file exists in your project directory:

     ls
     

   • You should see the go.mod file among the listed entries.

3. Writing and Running Your First Program

Now, let's write a simple "Hello, World!" program to verify that everything is working correctly.

1. Create a new .go file:

   • Inside the ~/projects/hello-go directory, create a new file named hello.go:

     touch hello.go
     

2. Add some code to the hello.go file:

   • Using an editor of your choice (e.g., Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, Nano), open hello.go and write the following code:

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

3. Save the file and run the program:

   • Save the changes in hello.go.
   • Run your program using the go run command:

     go run hello.go
     

   • You should see the output:

     Hello, World!
     

This concludes our step-by-step guide to installing GoLang and setting up a workspace, whether using GOPATH or modules.

Additional Resources:

• Official Go Documentation: Comprehensive guide including installation details.
• Go Modules Tutorial: Good introduction to understanding and using Go modules.