# Why I Picked Up Go After 20 Years of Web Development

> After two decades of JavaScript, PHP, and Python, I am picking up Go to solve a real performance problem—and the early impressions are strong.

- Author: Brian Kimball
- Published: 2023-11-16
- Tags: development, golang
- Canonical: https://brian-kimball.com/blog/learning-go/
- Markdown: https://brian-kimball.com/blog/learning-go/index.md

## Preface

I've been a web developer for roughly 20 years, starting with Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver. My journey began with PHP and jQuery, moving through Ruby, Python, Node, and Elixir. While JavaScript/TypeScript is my favorite for its syntax and ecosystem, I know it's not always the best tool.

Recently, I've seen Go (Golang) heralded for its performance and Developer Experience (DX).

## Why Go?

<figure>
  <blockquote>
    Go was designed at Google in 2007 to improve programming productivity in an
    era of multicore, networked machines and large codebases.
  </blockquote>
  <figcaption>- Wikipedia</figcaption>
</figure>

Designed partially out of frustration with C++, Go offers a robust standard library, static typing with excellent IDE support, and no VM requirement. It excels in networking and CLI applications.

## Why Go?

<figure>
  <blockquote>
    Go was designed at Google in 2007 to improve programming productivity in an
    era of multicore, networked machines and large codebases.
  </blockquote>
  <figcaption>- Wikipedia</figcaption>
</figure>

Designed partially out of frustration with C++, Go offers a robust standard library, static typing with excellent IDE support, and no VM requirement. It excels in networking and CLI applications.

## The Plan: Rebuilding Network Mapper

After completing the website walkthrough, I found Go's syntax readable and intuitive. To accelerate my learning, I used this [GitHub repo](https://github.com/miguelmota/golang-for-nodejs-developers) which highlights syntax differences for Node.js developers.

I plan to rewrite my [network-mapper](/blog/network-mapper/) app in Go. The original JavaScript application (Fastify + Solid.js) struggled with performance during `nmap` scans. Go should resolve these issues.

- **Frontend:** Solid.js (switching to Kobalte for accessible components).
- **Database:** Switching from PostgreSQL to SQLite for portability.
- **Backend:** [Echo framework](https://echo.labstack.com/).
- **Deployment:** Embedded Vite SPA within a single Go binary (using [this guide](https://dev.to/aryaprakasa/serving-single-page-application-in-a-single-binary-file-with-go-12ij)).

I will share the GitHub repo once I make more progress. If you are a Node developer curious about Go, the [golang-for-nodejs-developers](https://github.com/miguelmota/golang-for-nodejs-developers) cheatsheet is the fastest on-ramp I have found.