Error handling and learning best practices have now emerged as the most pressing challenges for Golang developers, as the addition of generics to the Go programming language has resolved the most commonly reported issue, according to the January 2023 Go Developer Survey.
The annual survey gathered insights from 5,844 Go developers, sharing how they use the Go language, the challenges they face, and their top priorities for future improvements. Established as a highly valuable source of information within the Golang community, the survey results were published on May 11, 2023.
Prior to the introduction of generics, which arrived officially with Go 1.18 in March 2022, the lack of this feature was the biggest concern among surveyed developers. Generics simplify coding by enabling developers to write functions that are independent of the types used. The broad adoption of generics has since led to a significant decrease in comments regarding this issue.
The survey findings revealed that the readability and verbosity of errors in Golang, as well as the steep learning curve involved in mastering best practices for Go programming, have now become the most-reported challenges faced by developers. Additionally, open-source Go module maintainers reported difficulties in keeping dependencies up-to-date and avoiding interruptions caused by version conflicts and breaking changes. Consequently, plans are in place to explore this area further, with the intention of assisting maintainers in establishing a stable and healthy ecosystem.
Interestingly, the survey also discovered that novice Golang developers have a growing interest in using the language for web development. This highlights the potential of web app development tools, such as AppMaster's no-code platform, in attracting more developers to create web applications with ease and efficiency.
As the Golang ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly, it's essential for developers to stay informed about the latest best practices, trends, and tools. Platforms like AppMaster can be invaluable resources for Golang developers looking to create versatile, scalable, and performant backend applications with minimal effort.
