On Tuesday, Google launched ‘Go’, an Open Source programming language which combines Python and C++. The applications developed on this platform will be for multi-processor systems. The Go programming language combines the power of a compiled language like C++, with the robust and fast application of an interpreted language, like Python.

Google-Go

‘Go’ is another brainchild of Google’s 20% free time. Rob Pike, a principle engineer at Google and a Go developer says:

I’ve never felt as productive as I have working with Go.

The Go Project actually began in 2007 and the reason for the open-sourcing, as Pike says, is:

We’re opening sourcing it now because we think it’s reached the point of being fun and useful and powerful

‘Go’, reportedly runs at the speed of C. Other existing languages have not been optimized to run on modern day multi-core processors. The learning curves of ‘Go’ are comparable to that of Java and the language is not too hard to learn as well. ‘Go’ should be a programmer’s choice over existing languages like C and C++, given its speed and optimal implementation on current day hardware.

‘Go’ will go a long way in  bridging the gap between compiled and interpreted languages. Pike gives an example saying, Google Wave currently uses a C++ backend and a JavaScript frontend. ‘Go’, if used in Google Wave can replace both the backend and the frontend equally effectively. Pike is also quoted to have said:

Go has properties that make it really nice for running inside the browser for your apps

Which is something web-developers will really like. I will give ‘Go’ a go from my side.

For the rest, we will see the developer community’s take on ‘Go’ over the next few months.

Visit the ‘Go’ homepage for more details.