Getting Started with Go

May 2018

If you’re starting a new project or a job that requires knowing Go, here’s an opinionated learning plan that will get you ready in a hurry. If you’re exploring Go out of idle curiosity, this probably isn’t the plan for you — there are plenty of excellent videos and conference talks with a better balance of entertainment and technical content.

Learn the Language

You don’t need a local Go installation to get started - you can learn the language and start writing code in your browser.

After those three steps, spend some time writing a bit of toy code.

Learn the Idioms

As a community, Go programmers tend to prefer strong conventions over freedom of expression. Before you start writing Go professionally, get acquainted with the community norms.

You don’t need to read these documents in one sitting, but you should read them...don’t just skim the headings and move on.

Learn the Details

Once you’ve picked up the basics and some common idioms, dive a little deeper.

If you’re done with all that and still want more material, work your way through The Go Programming Language and take Bill Kennedy’s Ultimate Go class. Both resources are long but worthwhile.