Code formatting and naming convention tools in Golang
The formatting of code shows the way code is formatted in a file. It points out to the way, how code is designed and how carriage returns used in writing. Go does not require special rules around the code formatting, but have a standard that is generally used and accepted in the community.
Golang provides the gofmt tool to encourage and safeguard that the Golang code is formatted in line with an expected conventions. The importance of this tool is that we do not even need to determine the conventions.
Below program will compile and execute without any error. Do you find this easy to read?
Example
package main
import ("fmt")
var(
a = 654
b = false
c =2.651
d =4+ 1i
)
func main(){ fmt.Printf("d for Integer: %d\n", a)
fmt.Printf( "t for Boolean: %t\n", b )
fmt.Printf("g for Float: %g\n",c)
fmt.Printf("e for Scientific Notation: %e\n",d)}
From command line, run the program with gofmt -w test1.go.
Now you should see that it has been reformatted by the gofmt tool and is now become more readable, with consistent spacing.
Example
package main
import (
"fmt"
)
var (
a = 654
b = false
c = 2.651
d = 4 + 1i
)
func main() {
fmt.Printf("d for Integer: %d\n", a)
fmt.Printf("t for Boolean: %t\n", b)
fmt.Printf("g for Float: %g\n", c)
fmt.Printf("e for Scientific Notation: %e\n", d)
}
Naming will ever be a significantly subjective exercise, but it is worth spending some moment considering how you will name things. Some things need to be consider when naming variables, functions, structs, constant and interfaces like, Who will be using this code? Is it just me or a wider team? Could someone who is new to the code read it and understand practically what it is doing?
It is essential to sustain some conventions around naming, but being assertive about naming can also be a hindrance. For the majority of instances, it should be feasible to satisfy with your own conventions and the situation in which the code is being used.
The golint tool gives helpful hints on style and can also serve with reviewing the recognized conventions of the Golang.The golint command searches for style mistakes in terms of the conventions of the Golang project itself.
The golint executable is not installed by default but can be installed as follows:
To verify that the tool was installed properly, type golint --help at the terminal. You should see some help text written to the monitor.
Let's take an example code that could be improved.
Example
package main
import (
"fmt"
)
var (
a = 654
b = false
c = 2.651
d = 4 + 1i
)
func main() {
fmt.Printf("d for Integer: %d\n", a)
fmt.Printf("t for Boolean: %t\n", b)
fmt.Printf("g for Float: %g\n", c)
fmt.Printf("e for Scientific Notation: %e\n", d)
}
These suggestions are not compulsory, as the code will compile, but it is a good practice to fix the warnings and pick up the conventions because Go itself adopts this tool. Using the golint tool can also be a great idea to learn how to write Idiomatic Go. The tool covers many conventions, including naming, styles, and general conventions. Many of the text editor plugins provides a way to run golint in a project during development or on save.