Clean Code - Pg. 2

Don't Go To Casting Hell - Use Default Native Types in Go

May 21, 2020 by Lane Wagner

Go is strongly typed, and with that, we get many options for simple variable types like integers and floats. The problem arises when we have a uint16, and the function we are trying to pass it into takes an int. We find code riddled with int(myUint16) that can become slow and annoying to read. In other words, when Go developers stray from the “default” type for any given type family, the code can get messy quickly.

Range Over Ticker In Go With Immediate First Tick

Apr 30, 2020 by Lane Wagner

The Go standard library has a really cool type - Ticker. Tickers are used when you want to do something at a regular interval, similar to JavaScript’s setInterval. Here’s an example:

Using 'Go Generate' To Deploy Multi-Process Apps

Apr 22, 2020 by Lane Wagner

In microservice architectures, it’s fairly common to have a project that includes different worker types. A Makefile can be used to manage the creation of multiple programs, but the Go toolchain has a tool that can be used as well, go generate. Here are some examples of how it can be used:

What Are Golang's Anonymous Structs?

Apr 21, 2020 by Lane Wagner

An anonymous struct is just like a normal struct, but it is defined without a name and therefore cannot be referenced elsewhere in the code.

Golang Conversions - Ints To Strings And Strong Typing

Mar 31, 2020 by Lane Wagner

Go is a strongly typed language, which means at any point a developer should know exactly what type of value they are dealing with. For example, if we have a function that prints a string, we can’t just give it an integer and expect it to work. We have to cast it to a string explicitly:

Wrapping Errors in Go - How to Handle Nested Errors

Mar 09, 2020 by Lane Wagner

Errors in Go are a hot topic. Many newcomers to the language immediately level their first criticism, “errors in go are clunky! Let me just use try/catch!” This criticism is well-meaning but misguided.

Top 6 Golang Logging Best Practices

Jan 07, 2020 by Lane Wagner

Let’s discuss a few rules of thumb for logging in Go, as well as some features you may not have heard of that can make debugging easier. Best practices for logging in Go are not so obvious and sometimes we need to look closer to see what is the best choice, considering the unique situation of error handling in Go.

Singletons in ES6 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Nov 04, 2019 by Lane Wagner

Singletons are fairly controversial as far as I can tell, especially in JavaScript programming. Let’s take a look at what they are, when to (maybe) use them, and when not to.

How to Create Constant Maps, Slices, & Arrays in Golang

Oct 21, 2019 by Lane Wagner

The quick answer is that Go does not support constant arrays, maps or slices. However, there are some great workarounds.

Systems and Processes that Aren't in Code are Terrifying

Oct 03, 2019 by Lane Wagner

My worst enemy is processes that a developer spun up years ago on a server everyone has forgotten about. I don’t know how to find these systems reliably, I don’t know where they came from, what depends on them, and if they are safe to delete. For example, the dreaded 15 6 2 1 * /home/lane/backup.sh. You may recognize this as a Unix cronjob, a job that is scheduled to run on a server periodically.

The Proper Use of Pointers in Go (Golang)

Sep 25, 2019 by Lane Wagner

Go has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially in my local area. It has been consistently displacing other backend languages like Ruby, Python, C# and Java. Go is wanted for its simplicity, explicitness, speed, and low memory consumption.