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Exploring Golang for Backend Development — Need Your Advice!
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Vinicius Fernandes
Apr 21, 2025, 6:23:16 PMApr 21
to golang-nuts
Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well.
I’ve been a developer for 5 years, currently working with Laravel for backend and Vue.js for frontend.
Lately, I've been thinking about switching my backend language to Golang, and I’d love to exchange some ideas with people who are already on this path.
I have a few questions and curiosities about the language and the market. In the day-to-day of companies, is Golang commonly used to build APIs, like we do with Laravel? Or is it more focused on specific solutions, like high-performance systems, microservices, or cloud applications?
Another thing I’d like to know is: for those of you who work professionally with Golang, what role does the language play in your company? Does it completely replace other stacks, or is it used in specific projects alongside other technologies?
I’m also curious about how Golang is being accepted in the market. Do you see good demand for developers skilled in this language? And for someone starting with Golang coming from a PHP/Laravel background, what would be the main challenges or differences I should be aware of?
If you could share some of your experiences, learning tips, and even best practices for using Golang to build APIs, I’d really appreciate it!
Cheers!
SDN Scottie von Bruchhausen
Apr 22, 2025, 11:42:54 PMApr 22
to Vinicius Fernandes, golang-nuts
Hi Vinicius,
Golang can be seen your "Porsche" and Rust can be seen as your "Lamborgini". So make shure you have both parked in your garage and you
know how to drive, handle them both well :-)
These two languages will solve ALL your problems and you will have great fun, taking each for a drive.
Golang is superior for API server applications and for hardware accessing applications, focus on using Rust.
HTH,
Scottie
Golang can be seen your "Porsche" and Rust can be seen as your "Lamborgini". So make shure you have both parked in your garage and you
know how to drive, handle them both well :-)
These two languages will solve ALL your problems and you will have great fun, taking each for a drive.
Golang is superior for API server applications and for hardware accessing applications, focus on using Rust.
HTH,
Scottie
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alex-coder
Apr 23, 2025, 5:28:57 AMApr 23
to golang-nuts
Hi Scottie,
I don't have a driver's license :-), but I would like to read about the technical characteristics of the languages comparison.
Could you please share information.
Thank you.
среда, 23 апреля 2025 г. в 06:42:54 UTC+3, SDN Scottie von Bruchhausen:
SDN Scottie von Bruchhausen
Apr 23, 2025, 7:49:16 AMApr 23
to alex-coder, golang-nuts
Hi Alex,
just ask chatgpt, at the bottom, as I initially pointed out for rust and golang.
thanks,
Scottie
just ask chatgpt, at the bottom, as I initially pointed out for rust and golang.
thanks,
Scottie
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/golang-nuts/5188776e-1928-478f-aa18-190fc3b5d686n%40googlegroups.com.
Gregor Best
Apr 23, 2025, 2:42:33 PMApr 23
to Vinicius Fernandes, golang-nuts
Hi,
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 05:11:19AM -0700, Vinicius Fernandes wrote:
> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well.
>
> I’ve been a developer for 5 years, currently working with Laravel for
> backend and Vue.js for frontend.
> Lately, I've been thinking about switching my backend language to
> Golang, and I’d love to exchange some ideas with people who are already
> on this path.
>
> I have a few questions and curiosities about the language and the
> market. In the day-to-day of companies, is Golang commonly used to
> build APIs, like we do with Laravel? Or is it more focused on specific
> solutions, like high-performance systems, microservices, or cloud
> applications?
> [...]
All of the above, I'd say. Though "This is a (REST) API" and "this is a high-performance cloud microservice" are really orthogonal concepts :)
> [...]
At my day job, where possible, we use Go as our backend language. We do have a few services that are not built with Go because the things they do require packages not available in Go (such as templating transactional emails with React).
Other than that, we use it for things ranging from little CLI tools all the way to services wrangling large amounts of geodata, rendering maps, managing a 3D reconstruction pipeline and more or less everything in between.
The same goes for my freelancing projects: depending on the client, somewhere between "a lot" and "all" of the backend code is Go, again with a wide range of applications, roughly from "managing and analysing audio data" to "interfacing with legacy systems that speak an extremely niche protocol specified in 2002 and not touched since".
> [...]
Freelancing in Western Europe seems to work out nicely. I haven't had a problem finding clients and permanent jobs in the last 10 years, but YMMV.
> [...]
The main thing I've seen people with a similar background struggle with is that idiomatic Go code is IMHO a lot more straightforward than the usual PHP code base. Things really are (and should be) what they say they do, there's very little magic.
Some struggle with building complex cathedrals of SOLID (tm) design, where a rustic shed would do just fine. My suggestion would roughly be:
At first, try the _dumbest_ thing that can possibly do what you want. That's often enough.
Others have difficulties getting started without things like a web framework. Here, my advise would be:
Treat the standard library as your first framework, and only add 3rd-party stuff once you've determined (not guessed!) that you need it.
Especially things like `net/http` are very very good, and provide roughly all that one would need. For the things that aren't in there, you can usually fall back to collections of middleware like Gorilla instead of throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
> [...]
I've already mentioned it above, but I'll reiterate:
Dumb code that does what it says without magic is a lot more desirable than "clever" or "abstracted away" code that is inscrutable. Strive for simplicity.
This doesn't mean "write bad code, it'll be fine". It means that idiomatic Go code embraces and exemplifies this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
--
Gregor
On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 05:11:19AM -0700, Vinicius Fernandes wrote:
> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well.
>
> I’ve been a developer for 5 years, currently working with Laravel for
> backend and Vue.js for frontend.
> Lately, I've been thinking about switching my backend language to
> Golang, and I’d love to exchange some ideas with people who are already
> on this path.
>
> I have a few questions and curiosities about the language and the
> market. In the day-to-day of companies, is Golang commonly used to
> build APIs, like we do with Laravel? Or is it more focused on specific
> solutions, like high-performance systems, microservices, or cloud
> applications?
All of the above, I'd say. Though "This is a (REST) API" and "this is a high-performance cloud microservice" are really orthogonal concepts :)
> [...]
> Another thing I’d like to know is: for those of you who work
> professionally with Golang, what role does the language play in your
> company? Does it completely replace other stacks, or is it used in
> specific projects alongside other technologies?
> [...]
> professionally with Golang, what role does the language play in your
> company? Does it completely replace other stacks, or is it used in
> specific projects alongside other technologies?
At my day job, where possible, we use Go as our backend language. We do have a few services that are not built with Go because the things they do require packages not available in Go (such as templating transactional emails with React).
Other than that, we use it for things ranging from little CLI tools all the way to services wrangling large amounts of geodata, rendering maps, managing a 3D reconstruction pipeline and more or less everything in between.
The same goes for my freelancing projects: depending on the client, somewhere between "a lot" and "all" of the backend code is Go, again with a wide range of applications, roughly from "managing and analysing audio data" to "interfacing with legacy systems that speak an extremely niche protocol specified in 2002 and not touched since".
> [...]
> I’m also curious about how Golang is being accepted in the market. Do
> you see good demand for developers skilled in this language?
> [...]
> you see good demand for developers skilled in this language?
Freelancing in Western Europe seems to work out nicely. I haven't had a problem finding clients and permanent jobs in the last 10 years, but YMMV.
> [...]
> And for someone starting with Golang coming from a PHP/Laravel background,
> what would be the main challenges or differences I should be aware of?
> [...]
> what would be the main challenges or differences I should be aware of?
The main thing I've seen people with a similar background struggle with is that idiomatic Go code is IMHO a lot more straightforward than the usual PHP code base. Things really are (and should be) what they say they do, there's very little magic.
Some struggle with building complex cathedrals of SOLID (tm) design, where a rustic shed would do just fine. My suggestion would roughly be:
At first, try the _dumbest_ thing that can possibly do what you want. That's often enough.
Others have difficulties getting started without things like a web framework. Here, my advise would be:
Treat the standard library as your first framework, and only add 3rd-party stuff once you've determined (not guessed!) that you need it.
Especially things like `net/http` are very very good, and provide roughly all that one would need. For the things that aren't in there, you can usually fall back to collections of middleware like Gorilla instead of throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.
> [...]
> If you could share some of your experiences, learning tips, and even
> best practices for using Golang to build APIs, I’d really appreciate
> it!
> [...]
> best practices for using Golang to build APIs, I’d really appreciate
> it!
I've already mentioned it above, but I'll reiterate:
Dumb code that does what it says without magic is a lot more desirable than "clever" or "abstracted away" code that is inscrutable. Strive for simplicity.
This doesn't mean "write bad code, it'll be fine". It means that idiomatic Go code embraces and exemplifies this quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
--
Gregor
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