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Go: A Documentary

by Changkun Ou <changkun.de> (and many inputs from contributors)

This document collects many interesting (publicly observable) issues, discussions, proposals, CLs, and talks from the Go development process, which intends to offer a comprehensive reference of the Go history.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

  • Most of the texts are written as subjective understanding based on public sources
  • Factual and typo errors may occur. Referring to the original link if some text conflicts to your understanding
  • PRs are very welcome for new content submission, bug fixes, and typo fixes
  • Use Issues for discussions

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Sources

There are many sources for digging the documents that relate to Go's historical design, and here are some of the official sources:

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Origin

Go is a big project driven by a tiny group of people and the crowd of wisdom from the language user community. Here are some core committers to the project if you are interested in following their excellent work.

Go's origin is attractive without doubts. By listening to the talks held by these people, you could learn more about their oral history and fun stories behind the great work.

For instance, here are some exciting talks regarding the historical feats in Go might be your starting points (as a subjective recommendation): talk/rob2007, talk/rob2009, talk/rob2010b, talk/rob2010d, talk/rob2011a, talk/rob2013a, talk/rob2019, talk/robert2015, talk/russ2014, steve2019b, etc.

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Committers

Core Authors

The Go language was created by Rob, Robert, and Ken initially because Rob was bothered by slow C++ compiling times, talked to Robert, and luckily Ken was in the next office. Later, Ian joined the project after showing interest, and wrote the gccgo. Rob and Ken are retired. Robert and Ian currently work on adding generics to Go. Russ is also one of the core authors of the project in the early stage. Back then, he was a newcomer at Google, and Rob invited Russ for joining the Go team since he knew Russ from way back because of the Plan 9 project. Russ worked on the early Go compiler, runtime, as well as the leap of Go 1.5 bootstrap. Now, Russ is the tech leader of the Go team.

  • Rob Pike. (Robert C. Pike, M. Sc.) Website, Blog, GitHub, Twitter, Reddit. (Retired)

    • Alma mater: University of Toronto (BS), California Institute of Technology
    • talk/rob2007
      Advanced Topics in Programming Languages: Concurrency/message passing Newsqueak. May 9, 2007

      Summary:In this Google Tech Talk from May 2007, Rob Pike, creator of UTF-8 and Plan 9 for Bell Labs, discusses his programming language, New Squeak, which features interesting mechanisms for concurrency and message passing. Pike argues that there are two ways to deal with the mismatch between the concurrent world we live in and the sequential computers we use to write programs: make the world look synchronous and sequential, or make software concurrent. Pike discusses the limitations of low-level concepts like threads, shared memory, and locks when it comes to programming for concurrency. New Squeak is a programming language that was created in 1988 to address issues that arise when writing software for a concurrent world. It has lambdas as functions, process management software, and channels as first-class citizens. The language inspired other languages and was used as a systems language at Bell Labs for a few years to build interesting tools. The talk focuses on processes and channels in New Squeak and how to write programs using these concepts. Channels are a communication tool used in programming that reduce the number of tokens needed for communication. Channels in CSP are introduced by the keyword Chan in New Squeak and are unbuffered synchronous communication ports that synchronize and communicate values between processes. New Squeak's channels and select statements enable potential communications and allow processes to block until one or more communications can proceed. The article introduces a simple language with n-way muxing and presents a program that prints sequential integers to a channel. It also explains the concept of a prime sieve and filter process to find all the primes that come out of a calculation. The system can also be used to manipulate power series. The article discusses the use of interfaces and channels in programming, with an example from the Newspeak language. The author discusses a system model used in building window systems in Plan Nine, which involves defining components as interfaces that capture communication and data flow through channels. This approach was used in all major user-level services in Plan Nine and was made easier by the author's previous experience with concurrency models in programming. The model allows for complex interactions between components and allows for composing interfaces themselves, rather than just state machines. The author also discusses the challenges of debugging concurrent programs and the limitations of CSP-like libraries for implementing select operations. They propose the idea of a shim interface that guarantees deadlock-free operation and can isolate and kill misbehaving clients. The Squint interpreter, a code from 1988, lacks many libraries for graphics and other functions. The idea of implementing a communication channel model on top of mutexes in C++ is discussed, and the cost of a channel versus a callback is debated. Optimizations can be made to generate more compact code for different forms of select.

    • talk/rob2009 The Go Programming Language. Nov 27, 2009.
    • talk/rob2010a
      Go Programming. Google I/O 2010. May 20, 2010

      Summary: In the Google I/O 2010 video episode titled "Go Programming, " Rob Pike and Russ Cox discuss the unique features and principles of the Go programming language. They emphasize the importance of using core concepts and idioms specific to Go, rather than translating code from other languages. One key feature of Go is its different types, including basic and composite types. Pike and Cox explain that Go is object-oriented but not type-oriented, meaning it does not have classes or inheritance. They also highlight the implicit nature of Go, where type declarations can be omitted. Concurrency is another significant aspect of Go programming. Pike and Cox explain that Go focuses on concurrent programming rather than parallel programming. They discuss the benefits of concurrency and how it allows for the construction of well-structured programs that can effectively utilize multiple cores. The video episode also delves into the use of interfaces in Go programming. Interfaces are used to define common methods that different types can implement, allowing for code reuse and flexibility. Pike and Cox provide examples of how interfaces are used in the block cipher package in Go. The speakers compare Go to other languages, such as Java, and highlight the advantages of using Go for implementing interfaces. They mention the flexibility of multiple wrappers and satisfying multiple interfaces. The concept of chaining readers together to decrypt and decompress data is also discussed in the episode. Pike and Cox explain the concept of load balancing in distributed systems and describe a simple model for distributing tasks to workers. They discuss the role of a load balancer in handling requests and the use of request and response channels. Throughout the episode, Pike and Cox emphasize the unique principles and features of Go, such as closures and channels, which make it a preferred choice for concurrent programming. They also mention the suitability of Go for different environments, such as server, desktop, and mobile. In conclusion, the "Go Programming" episode of the Google I/O 2010 video provides an in-depth overview of the Go programming language. Pike and Cox highlight its unique features, such as different types, concurrency, and the use of interfaces. They compare Go to other languages and discuss its advantages for concurrent programming. Overall, the episode showcases the power and efficiency of Go and its potential for various programming environments.

    • talk/rob2010b
      Origins of Go Concurrency style. Emerging Languages Camp 2010. July 21, 2010.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Rob Pike. Origins of Go Concurrency Style, " Rob Pike discusses the origins and concepts of concurrency in the Go programming language. He highlights the influence of Tony Hoare's paper on communicating sequential processes (CSP) in 1978, which emphasized communication and parallel composition of sequential processes. Pike describes CSP as a mathematical and elegant language that focuses on communication and synchronization between sender and receiver. Pike explains how processes can be combined in parallel, resembling a pipeline, and mentions the limitations of CSP, such as the inability to dynamically create processes or use send as a guard, and the lack of support for threads or mutexes. He also discusses the development of concurrent programming models and the emergence of the Occam language, which laid out the foundations for programming multi-processors and concurrent algorithms without the need for locks. The video episode also touches on the development of the Limbo language into Go, highlighting the power of Go's CSP model and its use of channels for communication and concurrency. Channels are described as first-class values that enable the transmission of data and capabilities between processes. Pike mentions the development of the lf language, which faced challenges due to its lack of garbage collection, but Limbo addressed these issues and became more successful in its limited domain. The benefits of using concurrency in programming are discussed, particularly in the context of the CSP model. Pike emphasizes how concurrency allows for efficient computation in areas such as cryptography and graphics, while also providing the opportunity for code reusability. He recommends reading the original CSP paper for a deeper understanding of the language and discusses the concepts of process control and communication, emphasizing the importance of understanding the power of co-routines. Pike also highlights the ease and safety of writing concurrent programs in Go, emphasizing that Go's concurrency features are natural and easy to use. He mentions the safety of Go's memory system and type safety, cautioning against using the unsafe package. The language has been successfully used in various applications, including high-traffic websites, and offers powerful channel capabilities for communication. The video episode concludes by explaining the concept of channels in a systems language, where types determine what can be sent through a channel. It discusses the efficiency and flexibility of this approach compared to traditional sharing and locking models. Pike also mentions the concept of passing pointers in programming and how it relates to efficiency and ownership, emphasizing the importance of understanding that once a pointer is passed, it is no longer the concern of the original owner. The episode highlights the idea that making things easy can lead to increased efficiency, which is seen as a positive point.

    • talk/rob2010c
      Public Static Void. OSCON 2010. Jul 22, 2010.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Public Static Void" from OSCON 2010, Rob Pike, a software engineer from Google, Inc. , discusses various topics related to programming languages and their complexities. Pike emphasizes the value of early programming languages, highlighting their simplicity and efficiency compared to the complexity and noise of modern software development. One of the challenges Pike addresses is the intricacy involved in calling functions in C++, as well as the absence of garbage collection. He also mentions the difficulty for non-expert programmers in choosing from different Boost templated pointer types for memory management. Pike acknowledges the complexity of sophisticated programming languages like C++ and the issues that arise from this. The significance of C++ and Java in programming, particularly in education and industry, is also discussed. Pike questions why these languages have become the standard and provides a simplified history of their development. He disagrees with the trend of using C++ and Java for teaching, arguing that both languages are too complex and verbose to be user-friendly. The limitations of using patterns in software development are highlighted, with the author suggesting that as programming languages improve, the need for patterns may decrease. Object-oriented programming languages are criticized for being bureaucratic and repetitive, and the text encourages awareness of alternative programming models. The issue of repetitive and nonsensical code is addressed, with an example given to illustrate the importance of avoiding such code in programming. The problems with using ambiguous integers and booleans in code are also discussed, emphasizing the need for clear data declarations. The bureaucratic nature of programming languages is explored, with popular languages like Python, Ruby, and JavaScript being criticized for becoming cumbersome. The emergence of new programming languages, such as Haskell and Scala, is seen as a response to the frustrations of working with older languages. The misconception that dynamic, interpreted languages are superior to compiled, static languages is challenged. The limitations of both old and new programming languages are discussed, and the need for a language that combines the benefits of both is argued for. In conclusion, the video episode delves into the complexities and challenges of programming languages. It highlights the importance of simplicity, efficiency, and user-friendliness in programming languages, and suggests that better solutions are needed to reduce the burden on developers. The Go programming language is mentioned as an attempt to fulfill these requirements, combining the safety and performance of a statically typed compiled language with the expressiveness and convenience of a dynamically typed interpreted language.

    • talk/rob2010d
      Another Go at Language Design. Aug 27, 2010.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Another Go at Language Design, " Rob Pike, a Principal Engineer at Google, Inc. , discusses the development of the Go programming language. Pike explains that the creation of Go was driven by the need for a language that could address the challenges faced by large code bases. He emphasizes that the development of Go is a collaborative effort involving many talented individuals, and expresses gratitude for the talented individuals he is working with. Pike discusses the concept of a "one true way" in computer science and how it depends on tools, problems, and beliefs. He mentions an upcoming talk about dynamic languages and static techniques. Pike also shares a quote about the simplicity and effectiveness of early programming languages. The video episode highlights the challenges of managing dependencies in C and C++ programs, which can lead to slower compilation times and hinder scalability. It introduces Go as an alternative, highlighting its ability to handle packages and dependencies effectively. The benefits of Go are discussed, including its speed and the ability to compile and run programs faster. The author suggests including the compiler in the runtime system to make the process even more efficient. The value of a new and clean compiler is emphasized, as it can significantly reduce build times and improve overall performance. The episode also explains methods and interfaces in Go, covering the syntax and examples of method declarations. The use of interfaces to define behavior is discussed, as well as the concept of empty interfaces, which can be satisfied by any type. The power of empty interfaces in controlling printing behavior is explored, mentioning the implementation of the printf function. Implicit interfaces are introduced, emphasizing the importance of type safety and convention. The flexibility and abstraction provided by interfaces are discussed, using the example of the 'reader' interface. The use of mutex and channels in worker pools to manage data sharing and communication is explained. The importance of garbage collection in concurrent server software is discussed, and how Go provides intrinsic safety and simplifies interface design. The use of the 'unsafe' library in low-level programming is mentioned, along with its potential risks. The improved performance of bounds check loops in modern machines and the reduced risk of buffer overflow exploits in Go are highlighted. The advantages of using Go for systems development are discussed, including its features such as unsigned types, bit-level operations, and control over memory layout. The design principles of Go are emphasized, including its control, safety, simplicity, and clarity. The episode explains how Go provides control over memory allocation and usage while ensuring safety without sacrificing performance. The visibility rules and the concept of constants in Go are also mentioned. Overall, the video episode praises the simplicity, efficiency, and productivity benefits of the Go programming language. It highlights its use in large-scale software development, including within Google, and its favorable license and open-source development. The episode also discusses various concepts in programming, including package namespaces, exceptions, classes and inheritance, and channels in the concurrency model. It emphasizes the importance of teamwork and unanimous decision-making in the collaborative design process of Go.

    • talk/rob2011a Parallelism and Concurrency in Programming Languages. Feb 17, 2011.
    • talk/rob2011b Google Go: Concurrency, Type System, Memory Management and GC. Feb 25, 2011.
    • talk/rob2011c
      Lexical Scanning in Go. Aug 30, 2011.

      Summary: In this episode of the Google Technology User Group, Rob Pike delivers a talk on Lexical Scanning in Go. The talk, given on Tuesday, 30 August 2011, focuses on the Go programming language and its relevance to solving structural mismatch problems in computing. Pike begins by explaining the concept of lexemes and tokens in programming languages. He discusses the challenges of tokenization and the advantages and disadvantages of using lexical analysis tools. Pike argues that it is often more efficient to write a custom lexer and highlights the importance of adaptability across programming languages. The process of writing a lexer is then discussed, which involves defining states and actions. Pike proposes a better approach to the current state machine model by continuously moving to the next state instead of discarding the current state. He introduces the concept of state functions, which are functions that return another state function and can be used in a lexer to loop through different states. Pike also explains how Go channels can enable communication between a lexer and a parser. He provides an explanation of the purpose of variables such as 'start' and 'pause' in a lexer and describes the role of Lex Text in scanning the input. The structure of an action block and the process of transitioning to a new state are also discussed. The talk then delves into the process of parsing characters in a template system, including how different characters are handled and the use of helper functions. Pike explains the concept of acceptors in a lexer, which are helpful for scanning complicated input. He also discusses how to lex numbers in a string, including different number formats and the use of tools to find the end of a number. Pike emphasizes the importance of error checking in parsing and validating numeric input. He mentions the use of a parser library to convert the input into a number, relieving the programmer from manual conversion. The concept of error functions in state machines is also explained, along with their role in creating formatted error messages. The talk concludes with a discussion on the challenges of running Go routines to completion during initialization in Go programming. Pike suggests a solution by changing the input and using a traditional lexing API without channels. The process of transforming existing code to use a traditional lexing API is explained, along with the concept of a run loop and select statement in programming. Overall, Pike's talk provides valuable insights into lexical scanning in Go and offers practical solutions to common challenges faced by programmers.

    • talk/rob2012a
      Go Concurrency Patterns. Google I/O 2012. Jul 2, 2012.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Google I/O 2012 - Go Concurrency Patterns, " Rob Pike discusses the importance of concurrency in designing high-performance network services. Pike, a renowned expert in programming, highlights Go's concurrency primitives, such as goroutines and channels, which provide a simple and efficient way to express concurrent execution. Pike begins by explaining the concept of concurrency and its practical uses. He clarifies that Go is a concurrent language, not a parallel one, and discusses how concurrent code can still have a useful structure even when running on a single processor. He also discusses the origins of concurrent programming ideas and languages, leading up to the development of Go. Pike emphasizes the unique features and intellectual depth of these languages. The video delves into the concept of goroutines in Go programming and how they allow for concurrent execution of multiple functions. Pike emphasizes the importance of communication and synchronization in creating proper concurrent programs. He provides a comprehensive explanation of channels in Go, which are essential for concurrent programming. Pike covers the declaration, initialization, sending, and receiving of values on channels. He highlights that channel operations are blocking and serve as a synchronization mechanism between goroutines. Pike also mentions the use of buffered channels and the Go approach of using channels for communication and synchronization instead of sharing memory. The episode explores the use of concurrency and the select statement in Go programming. The select statement is highlighted as a key feature of Go's concurrency model, allowing for easier control of program behavior based on communication. Pike discusses non-blocking communication, timeouts, and the use of a quit channel to signal the end of a process. He emphasizes the importance of proper communication to avoid premature program shutdown and the need for sophisticated communication between programs for synchronization. Pike also discusses the concept of goroutines, which are lightweight elements in programming. He uses the example of running 100, 000 gophers to illustrate the speed and efficiency of goroutines. Pike explains the process of how a Google search works, including the use of independently executing backends to find and deliver search results. He describes a process of testing the speed of a program and measures the time it takes for the search results to be obtained. Pike explains how launching goroutines for each backend makes the search process concurrent and parallel, reducing waiting time. The episode concludes by discussing the advantages of using concurrency in Go programming. Pike highlights the simplicity and reliability of using Go compared to other approaches. He also discusses the use of concurrency tools in software construction and the importance of caution when experimenting with concurrent programs. Pike addresses questions about channel locking, garbage collection, stack allocation, and the select control structure in Go. Overall, the video episode provides a comprehensive exploration of Go's concurrency features and their practical applications in designing high-performance network services.

    • talk/rob2012b
      Why Learn Go?. Sep 12, 2012.

      Summary: In this video episode titled "Why Learn Go?", Rob Pike, co-creator of the Go programming language, discusses the need for a new compiled language that can effectively handle the demands of modern computing. Pike argues that while languages like C, C++, and Java have been sufficient for server software development, they do not directly address the properties of the modern computing environment. With the rise of networking, cluster computing, and big data, there is a growing need for a language that is efficient and can run on multiple machines. Pike highlights the importance of dependency management in Go programming and how it contributes to faster build times. Unlike other languages, Go's import mechanism and clean dependency hierarchy prevent redundant imports and unnecessary recompilation. This results in significantly faster build times, with Go programs being built in seconds compared to minutes or hours for other languages. The recent release of Go version 1, which offers stability and locked-down APIs, has led to increased adoption of the language. Pike emphasizes that the Go community prioritizes effective use of the language rather than constantly releasing new versions. This focus on stability and usability has contributed to the language's popularity and widespread adoption. Pike concludes by expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to address the importance of utilizing an efficient and swift language for present tasks, rather than solely focusing on its development. He believes that Go is a next-generation language that is well-suited for today's modern computer environment, with its fluidity, ease of construction, and efficiency for building large programs. In summary, Rob Pike's video episode "Why Learn Go?" discusses the need for a new compiled language that can handle the demands of modern computing. He highlights the importance of dependency management in Go programming, which contributes to faster build times. The recent release of Go version 1, with its stability and locked-down APIs, has led to increased adoption of the language. Pike emphasizes the significance of utilizing an efficient and swift language for present tasks, rather than solely focusing on its development. Overall, Go is presented as a next-generation language for today's modern computer environment.

    • talk/rob2013a
      The path to Go 1. Mar 14, 2013.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "The path to Go 1, " Rob Pike and Andrew Gerrand discuss the development and release of Go 1 at OSCON 2012. The episode begins with a discussion on the development of the Go programming language, which was designed to solve software writing problems at Google. Go is a statically typed and compiled language that focuses on composing programs using interfaces and native concurrency support. The speakers then delve into the growth and development of the Go project, including the use of the mercurial version control system and the Rietveld code review plugin. They highlight the challenges faced in maintaining stability and the implementation of weekly snapshots to ensure stability. However, this caused confusion among contributors and users. To address version skew issues, a formal release process was implemented, but users still struggled to stay up to date. This led to the development of the powerful tool called "go fix, " which parses and rewrites Go code, making it easier for users to update their code to the latest version of the language. While beneficial for the Go project, the tool has drawbacks, such as an increase in code churn and the perception of Go as an unstable language, hindering adoption by some companies. The development process of Go version one is then discussed, with the goal of addressing concerns about its perceived instability and providing a reliable version for companies to depend on. The process involved addressing concerns, improving the language and its libraries, and building a new build toolset. The engagement of developers in the open-source community, particularly in Windows, was crucial. The release of Go 1 marked a shift in development approach, with a focus on long-term compatibility and improvements to Windows support. Language changes included the introduction of a new rune type and improvements to APIs. The introduction of a new "go" tool eliminated the need for make files and other build scripts, improving dependency management and the development workflow. Go 1 also brought improvements in documentation and testing, with a redesigned website providing streamlined installation instructions and comprehensive documentation. The release had a positive impact on the Go programming community, as developers redirected their efforts towards improving performance, stability, and bug fixing. The development team behind Go 1 has shifted their focus to using Go themselves and gathering feedback for future versions. Active development is ongoing, with a focus on stability, bug fixes, and efficiency improvements. Major improvements have been made to the compiler's code generation and the garbage collector. The team is also working on portability and developing new libraries. In conclusion, the video episode provides insights into the development and release of Go 1, highlighting the challenges faced, the improvements made, and the positive impact it had on the Go programming community. The speakers emphasize the importance of clean and rigorous dependency management and the need to reach a wider audience through diverse talks and engaging tutorials.

    • talk/rob2013b Go at Google. Apr 13, 2013.
    • talk/rob2013c Go Programming with Rob Pike and Andrew Gerrand. Aug 14, 2013.
    • talk/rob2013d
      Concurrency Is Not Parallelism. Oct 20, 2013.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Concurrency Is Not Parallelism, " Rob Pike speaks at Heroku Waza 2012. He explores the difference between concurrency and parallelism in programming languages, with a focus on the Go programming language. Pike argues that concurrency is superior to parallelism and clarifies the misconceptions surrounding these concepts. Pike emphasizes the importance of communication in coordinating concurrent tasks and references Tony Hoare's paper on communicating sequential processes as a highly regarded resource. He also discusses the select statement in Go, which serves as a multi-way concurrent control switch. The episode delves into the practical problem of getting rid of obsolete manuals using gophers and the need for efficient execution tools. Pike introduces the idea of using multiple gophers to move books more efficiently, highlighting the concepts of concurrency and parallelism. By coordinating the actions of multiple gophers, the process can be sped up. The episode explores different design patterns and strategies for achieving higher throughput, such as introducing staging dumps and increasing the number of gophers involved. However, it acknowledges that the example used is simplistic and lacks real-world relevance. Pike also discusses the similarities between the design of a book pile and a web serving architecture. He introduces the concept of go routines in Go programming language, which are similar to threads but more efficient and easier to create. Go routines allow for parallel execution and increased efficiency in programming. The episode explains the use of channels in Go for communication between go routines and introduces the concept of select, which allows the program to listen to multiple channels at once. Pike highlights the advantages of go routines over traditional threads in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the episode discusses the use of closures and channels in concurrent Go programming. It explains how closures can be used to wrap background operations and perform tasks concurrently, highlighting their simplicity and efficiency. The episode also demonstrates the use of channels in building a load balancer, showcasing the ease of expressing concurrent operations and the benefits of using channels in Go. Overall, the episode explores the advantages of concurrency and its role in building efficient algorithms. It discusses load balancing in a busy system and the use of channels in the Go programming language for communication. The episode distinguishes between concurrency and parallelism and provides additional resources for further understanding. Pike expresses appreciation to Hiroko for the invitation. In conclusion, Rob Pike's video episode on "Concurrency Is Not Parallelism" provides valuable insights into the differences between concurrency and parallelism in programming languages, with a focus on the Go programming language. Pike emphasizes the importance of communication, introduces various concepts and tools in Go, and discusses the advantages of concurrency in building efficient algorithms.

    • talk/rob2014a
      Hello Gophers! Gophercon Opening Keynote. GopherCon 2014. Apr 24, 2014.

      Summary: In the GopherCon 2014 Opening Keynote by Rob Pike, the history and development of the Go programming language are explored. Pike discusses the initial discussions and drafting of the Go specification, as well as the challenges faced in creating the first Go compiler. He highlights the changes in syntax and functionality of the program over time, including the introduction of the 'print' keyword and the modification of the 'main' function. The significance of packages in the design of the Go programming language is emphasized. Pike explains the importance of wrapping up code into libraries, controlling dependencies, and ensuring fast build times. He also discusses the concept of package imports, the benefits of using linear compilation, and the use of the 'export' keyword. The importance of initialization in Go programming is also explored. Pike mentions the challenges faced in implementing controlled initialization in C and the importance of proper program initialization in Go. Various aspects of the Go programming language are discussed, including syntax, import and namespace, formatted printing, UTF-8 handling, and the history of semicolons. Pike explains the reflection-driven approach to formatted printing, the significance of UTF-8 in Go, and the unique handling of non-ASCII characters. The development and evolution of the Go programming language are highlighted, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and a small team in its design process. Pike mentions the first concurrent program written in Go, called the prime sieve, and its structure. He also discusses the evolution of the CSP programming language and the changes in the syntax of Go over time. The stability of the Go programming language is emphasized, as it has remained largely unchanged for almost five years. Pike mentions that this stability has instilled trust in users and attracted beginners with its fast compiler and binary execution. He also discusses the development process and the contributions of the open-source community. The 'select' feature in Go is highlighted as crucial for implementing concurrency and creating complex structures. Pike discusses the challenges of implementing a debugger for Go language and using Go as an embedded language. He mentions ongoing efforts in the open-source community to address these challenges. Overall, the GopherCon 2014 Opening Keynote by Rob Pike provides a comprehensive overview of the history, development, and unique features of the Go programming language.

    • talk/rob2014b
      Implementing a bignum calculator. Sydney Go meeup. Nov, 19 2014.

      Summary: In the Golang-syd video episode titled "Implementing a bignum calculator with Rob Pike, " Rob Pike, a renowned programmer, discusses his experience in developing an APL-like calculator language. The episode covers various topics related to the implementation of the calculator and the challenges faced during the process. Pike begins by reflecting on the history of the calculator, called Hawk, which was initially developed for educational purposes. He acknowledges the limitations of the calculator, such as lack of precision and floating point issues. Pike also mentions his involvement in publishing a book on the Unix programming environment. The discussion then moves on to the issues with the 30-year-old calculator, including inaccuracies in calculations and the absence of support for hexadecimal numbers. Pike expresses his desire for a calculator that can handle larger numbers and explains his decision to implement an APL interpreter in Go. APL, a programming language developed by Ken Iverson in the 1950s and 60s, is introduced as a groundbreaking language with a simple kernel based on linear algebra. Pike highlights the uniqueness of APL, which uses special characters instead of keywords, making it an interesting language to learn and use. He mentions the rarity of seeing APL in action and refers to a video showcasing the development of an APL expression. The episode also briefly touches upon IV, a programming language named after Ken Iverson, which is still in its early stages but has interesting features such as exact arithmetic with rationals and support for large numbers. Pike mentions IV's potential for certain cryptographic calculations. The video then delves into various mathematical concepts and operations in programming. It covers vectors, matrices, random numbers, and sorting, emphasizing the use of APL for calculations and its potential for creating complex programs. The limitations of the APL implementation, particularly in base 16, are also discussed. Pike further explains the process of scanning tokens, parsing them into a parse tree, and evaluating the result in the context of implementing a numerical processor in Go. He shares his experience in designing a lexical scanner based on concurrency and discusses bugs encountered and fixed during the development process. The episode concludes with Pike discussing the parsing of expressions in an arithmetic grammar and a programming language. He explains the rules for operands, binary operators, and statement lists, highlighting the simplicity of parsing in APL and the influence of recursive descent parsers. Overall, the episode provides insights into the implementation of an APL-like calculator language and the challenges faced during the process. Pike's expertise and experience in programming shine through as he shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for different programming languages.

    • talk/rob2015a
      The move from C to Go in the toolchain. GopherFest 2015. Jun 10, 2015.

      Summary: In this episode of GopherFest 2015, Rob Pike discusses the transition from using C code to Go code in the Go programming language. The decision to move the compiler from C to Go was driven by practical reasons such as easier writing and debugging, better modularity and tooling, and support for parallel execution. The benefits of the transition are already being seen, including simplifying the management of two co-existing languages, improving testing and profiling, and overall maintenance of the codebase. The challenges of implementing a concurrent garbage collector in C are discussed, including type ambiguity and aliasing issues. The use of segmented stacks and imprecise stack data collection in GCC Go is highlighted as a solution to these challenges. The development process involved transitioning from segmented to contiguous stacks for C code and converting the runtime to a type-safe language. The decision to translate the Go compiler from C to Go was made for correctness and to avoid introducing new bugs. A machine-generated Go compiler was created using a custom translator to convert code from C to Go. The resulting code is not optimal but can be improved using various tools. The use of a parser written in Yak and the need for manual configuration are mentioned. The text also explains how a source-to-source translator in Go works and how it was used to fix slow code generated by a previous compiler. The differences between the compiler and garbage collector in the Go programming language are discussed. The Go compiler does not free memory, leading to overhead. The Go compiler team has made optimizations to improve performance and memory usage, such as using the math big package, reducing memory usage, improving escape analysis, and hand tuning. Recent changes have increased compiler speed by 15%, including better escape analysis and unification of architectures. The Go Build tool simplifies the compilation of Go programs into different architectures and operating systems. It makes code more portable, reducing the need for duplicated code in C. A new portable assembler has been introduced, allowing for easier code development and compatibility across architectures. The tool also includes a linker with a translation tool and a library. The improvements and future plans for the Go programming language are discussed, with a focus on enhancing performance. The release of Go 1. 5 includes updates such as a new assembler, garbage collector, and scheduler, resulting in cleaner and faster code. The tool chain and runtime have also been improved, making the code easier to test and maintain. The goal is to make the language more portable and flexible, although challenges with different instruction sets remain.

    • talk/rob2015b
      Go Proverbs. Gopherfest. Nov 18, 2015.

      Summary: In this episode of Gopherfest 2015, Rob Pike discusses various topics related to the game of Go and programming in the Go language. He begins by introducing the book 'Go Proverbs Illustrated', which provides valuable insights into the principles of the game of Go and how they can be applied to programming. Pike emphasizes the difficulty that Westerners face in learning and excelling in the game of Go, highlighting the unique gameplay and strategic thinking required. Moving on to programming, Pike emphasizes the significance of code formatting and the benefits of adhering to Go's formatting guidelines, specifically gofmt. He stresses the importance of consistency and readability in code and discusses the advantages of using small interfaces and structuring APIs effectively. Pike also mentions the cultural aspect surrounding interfaces in the Go ecosystem and the need to make the zero value of all types in a package useful. Pike then delves into the topic of dependency trees in programming and advocates for keeping them small. He suggests that copying small portions of code instead of importing entire libraries can lead to faster compilation, easier maintenance, and simplicity. He also emphasizes the use of build tags in code to make it more compact and less dependent on other pieces, particularly when it comes to guarding syscall and cisco uses for portability and compatibility. The drawbacks of using the unsafe package in Go are discussed, with Pike discouraging its use due to the potential for crashes and instability. He emphasizes the importance of writing clear and simple code, avoiding clever coding techniques, and limiting the use of reflection in Go. Pike also highlights the significance of designing the architecture and naming components in building a big system in Go. He stresses the need for good names that aid in understanding the design and make programming feel natural. Additionally, Pike discusses the importance of user-focused documentation that explains the purpose and usage of functions. He suggests the use of proverbs in code documentation to effectively convey information and resolve arguments. In conclusion, this episode of Gopherfest 2015 provides valuable insights into the game of Go and programming in the Go language. Rob Pike emphasizes the importance of understanding key concepts in programming, such as code formatting, small interfaces, and effective API structuring. He also discusses the significance of keeping dependency trees small, avoiding the use of unsafe packages, and designing architecture and naming components in building big systems. Overall, this episode offers valuable advice and principles for programmers in the Go ecosystem.

    • talk/rob2015c
      Simplicity is Complicated. dotGo 2015. Dec 2, 2015.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "dotGo 2015 - Rob Pike - Simplicity is Complicated, " Rob Pike discusses the success and complexity of the programming language Go. Pike, a renowned expert in the field, explains that while Go is often described as a simple language, it is not as straightforward as it seems. Pike begins by highlighting the importance of simplicity in Go's success. Unlike other languages that incorporate features from various sources, Go stands out for its straightforwardness. However, Pike expresses concern over the trend of languages converging towards a single language by adopting features from others, as it limits diversity in problem-solving approaches. He emphasizes the importance of having different languages optimized for different domains and ways of thinking. The video also delves into the challenges of balancing conciseness and readability in code. Pike emphasizes that readable code is easier to understand, work on, extend, and fix. He uses an example in the APL dialect called dialogue to illustrate how a concise program can be difficult to read. Pike also discusses the trade-off between using more expressive programming features and the potential decrease in efficiency. He emphasizes the importance of finding the right balance and selecting the appropriate features to ensure both conciseness and expressiveness in programming. The complexity hidden behind Go's simplicity is explored in detail. Pike discusses various aspects of Go, such as data types, functions, interfaces, and concurrency. He emphasizes the importance of a good implementation and effective tooling. Pike also highlights the complexity of garbage collection in Go, despite its lack of user interface. He mentions the simplicity of Go's concurrency model, particularly go routines, which allow for lightweight sub-processes. However, he explains that go routines involve complex management behind the scenes. The video also touches on Go's support for Unicode UTF-8, magic packages like net/http, and concurrency. Pike emphasizes the simplicity and ease of use of Go, as well as its popularity. He explores how Go handles numeric types and constants, highlighting the complexities involved in designing the language. Pike discusses the challenges of working with constants and interfaces, and the importance of packages in scoping and compiling. Despite their simplicity in usage, Go packages hide a lot of complexity. In conclusion, the video episode provides a comprehensive overview of the features and advantages of the Go programming language. Pike's insights shed light on the complexity hidden behind Go's simplicity and emphasize the importance of finding the right balance between simplicity and expressiveness in programming.

    • talk/rob2016a
      The Design of the Go Assembler. GopherCon 2016. Aug 18, 2016.

      Summary: In the GopherCon 2016 video episode titled "The Design of the Go Assembler, " Rob Pike discusses the importance of assembly language for programmers. He explains that assembly language allows programmers to access system functions at the lowest level and optimize performance. It is necessary for tasks like bootstrapping environments and taking advantage of hardware features. Pike emphasizes that understanding assembly language provides a deeper understanding of how computers work. Pike goes on to discuss the structure of assembly language, highlighting common features such as labels, instructions, operands, and comments. He explains that most CPUs have a similar structure, allowing for a common grammar. Pike also mentions the development of a common grammar for all machines and the work of Ken Thompson in developing a C compiler. The video episode delves into the evolution of assemblers and compilers in the Go programming language. Pike explains that the transition from C code to a Go implementation began with the creation of a library called Liblink, resulting in faster builds. The Go compiler and linker have undergone significant changes, with the obsolescence structure selection being moved to the back end of the compiler and assembler. The old C source has been translated into Go programs and the labeling has been rewritten into a suite of libraries. Pike suggests replacing all assemblers with a single program written in Go. He discusses the use of the -S flag in a compiler to display assembler instructions, explaining that the instructions produced are pseudo instructions from the stat phase of the compiler. Pike highlights the advantages of using a common assembly language for easier programming and portability. The video episode also covers the development of a new assembler program that can assemble any machine by parsing the input language into binary form. Pike explains the process of text processing in assembler and the validation and testing methods used. He describes the development of a universal assembler that eliminates the need for hardware manuals and replaces multiple programs with a single one. The assembler is compatible with old ones and can handle multiple architectures. Pike concludes by mentioning the use of machine-generated disassemblers and the challenges of reverse engineering. The goal is to have a machine-generated assembler that can be used with different architectures, making it easier for developers. He describes the process of developing the assembler using the C programming language and finds it exciting and relatively easy. Overall, the video episode provides valuable insights into the design and evolution of the Go assembler, highlighting the importance of assembly language and the benefits of a common assembly language for programming and portability.

    • talk/rob2016b
      Stacks of Tokens: A study in interfaces. Sydney Go Meetup. September 19, 2016.

      Summary: In this episode of the Sydney Go Meetup, Rob Pike, a Distinguished Engineer at Google, discusses the use of interfaces to solve a specific problem. He emphasizes the importance of design, portability, and generating manuals. Pike explores the role of a lexer in extracting tokens from input and the challenges of converting assembler language code written in C to a new assembler. He also discusses the implementation of a new C compiler and its impact on the lecture, highlighting its ability to use assembly language programs and define constants, macros, and instructions. Pike then delves into the features and functionality of the C preprocessor, including enabling and disabling blocks of code, as well as the concept of a token reader for analyzing macro definitions in C programming. He provides an overview of token readers and stacks in the Go programming language, explaining how token readers are used to process files and includes, and how they are implemented as a stack. Pike discusses the process of pushing and popping token readers from the stack, as well as retrieving the top of the stack. He also mentions the implementation of a stack in the text and the overall process of building a text processor. Additionally, Pike explains the concept of an input in a parser and the need for additional pieces to handle specific tasks at the top level of the parser. He provides an overview of the C preprocessor and its various components, including parsing and invoking macros, preventing infinite recursion, and using hash functions to determine token types. Pike emphasizes the benefits of breaking down problems into simple components and combining them to solve complex problems. He also explains the process of file inclusion, macro definition, and the importance of input. next in the preprocessor. Throughout the episode, Pike reflects on his experience designing and implementing a parser and assembler. He discusses the benefits of structuring the program to implement one interface through all the pieces and using Graco interfaces to break down the problem. Pike praises the clean structure of the stack and the role of the tech scanner package in facilitating the implementation process. He also discusses the challenges of working with assembly code and the importance of thorough testing. Pike mentions the use of a concurrent scanner for lexical processing and his experience in writing a C preprocessor. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the use of interfaces, lexer, token readers, and stacks in solving complex programming problems. Pike's expertise and experience shine through as he shares his knowledge and practical tips for designing and implementing efficient parsers and assemblers.

    • talk/rob2017
      Upspin. Gopherfest 2017. Jun 22, 2017.

      Summary: In this episode of Gopherfest 2017, Rob Pike discusses Upspin, an experimental project aimed at creating a secure and uniform framework for naming and sharing files and data globally. The video begins by highlighting the challenges of managing personal data in the modern world, where downloading and sharing digital media often means renting and potentially losing access if the account is lost. The history of data management is explored, with a focus on the shift towards cloud storage. The dissatisfaction with the current state of data ownership is expressed, and the need for a system like Upspin is emphasized. Upspin is described as a global space for storing and organizing data, prioritizing personal privacy, security, and data ownership. Unlike platforms like Dropbox, Upspin is not meant for corporations and aims to provide a secure data storage system that allows access to specific groups of people. The video delves into the technical aspects of Upspin, explaining that it uses the Go programming language and provides a brief overview of the infrastructure involved. The system uses email addresses as usernames for verification purposes and utilizes end-to-end encryption to ensure only authorized individuals can access the data. Sharing within the Upspin tree is done in a way that makes it easy to understand who can access shared content. The Go Centric Model, consisting of a key server, storage server, and directory server, is introduced as the foundation of Upspin. The key server stores user data, the storage server allows users to retrieve and store data based on references, and the directory server handles second-order lookups. The Upspin file system, its design decisions, and components are discussed, including the storage server, directory server, and client library. The video also explores the potential applications of Upspin, such as securely accessing data from a nursery camera or sharing an iTunes library. The importance of secure and convenient information access in the modern world is emphasized. Overall, Upspin aims to provide users with fine-grained control over their data and a unified computing experience across multiple devices. The project is in its early development stages and encourages user input to improve functionality. While there are still areas that need improvement, such as documentation and design, Upspin differentiates itself from other global file systems by allowing the directory server and storage server to be separate machines. The video concludes by mentioning Keybase, a cloud provider that offers secure data access and sharing, and its integration with various platforms for consistent access, privacy, and security.

    • talk/rob2018a
      The History of Unix. Nov 7, 2018.

      Summary: In this episode of the video, titled "The History of Unix, " Rob Pike takes us on a journey through the evolution of computing and the development of Unix. As an insider in the field, Pike provides a personal account of the key pieces that shaped the modern computing world. Pike begins by discussing the early days of computing, where punch cards were used and the development of Unix was still in its infancy. He shares his experiences working with IBM computers and his fascination with ray tracing and designing optical systems. Pike reflects on the reliability of the technology and his determination to access more resources. Moving forward, Pike delves into the PDP-11 machine, highlighting its various components and features such as tape drives, disc racks, and the graphic wonder. He also mentions the challenges of graphics processing and the significance of a frame buffer. Pike provides insights into the visible components of the machines and the early days of computing. Pike then recounts his experience of bringing a Unix system to grad school in California and using it to run Voyager ground stations. He reflects on the challenges of importing software across the US border and the significance of translating fan fold to a photo phone. Pike also discusses his early work at Google, focusing on graphics and sound projects, and running the lab on a small amount of memory. The video episode also touches on Pike's time at Bell Labs in the 1980s, where he worked on interesting projects such as the Cardiac simulation and the development of the Multix operating system. Pike stumbled upon a PDP seven computer and created the Space War program, providing insight into early computer gaming. Throughout the episode, Pike emphasizes the importance of Unix and its impact on the computing world. He discusses the evolution of the operating system and his experience learning to program on Unix. Pike also highlights the significance of graphics and networking in the development of computing technology. Overall, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of Unix and the journey of Rob Pike as a key figure in the field of computer programming.

    • talk/rob2018b
      Go 2 Draft Specifications. Sydney Golang Meetup. Nov 13, 2018.

      Summary: In the Sydney Golang Meetup video episode featuring Rob Pike, the focus was on the draft specifications for Go 2. The episode covered a wide range of topics related to the Go programming language, including its popularity, the need for evolution, and proposals for improvements. The video highlighted the importance of Go's stability and compatibility, which allows developers to focus on writing code rather than the language itself. However, in order to reach a larger audience and address certain issues, the language needs to evolve without compromising compatibility. The Go team has been engaging in discussions and design drafts to explore potential improvements and changes to the language. These design drafts serve as a way to generate ideas and gather feedback, with the aim of ensuring compatibility and minimizing disruptions to existing code while making enhancements. Specific proposals were discussed in the episode, such as the use of a new keyword called 'check' to simplify error handling, the simplification of variable declarations, and the introduction of a function local error handling mechanism. The episode also emphasized the importance of better semantics and standardization in error handling, as well as the significance of having a standard error formatting in software packages. The concept of parametric polymorphism, also known as generics, in Java was also explored in the episode. The challenges faced in implementing this feature and the ongoing efforts to find a solution were discussed. The episode highlighted the importance of being able to sort and communicate between different types of data in programming, and the drawbacks of dynamic type checking and reflection. The episode also touched on the significance of contracts in programming, the role of the debugging tool Delve in the Go community, and the concepts of covariance and contravariance in object-oriented languages. Throughout the episode, the importance of collaboration and open-mindedness in language design and software engineering was emphasized. The collaborative effort involved in designing the Go programming language was discussed, highlighting the contributions of multiple individuals and the importance of reaching consensus. In conclusion, the Sydney Golang Meetup video episode featuring Rob Pike provided a comprehensive overview of the recent discussions and proposals surrounding the Go programming language, specifically focusing on the concept of Go 2. The episode highlighted the need for the language to evolve while maintaining compatibility, and discussed specific proposals and challenges related to error handling, parametric polymorphism, and contracts. The importance of collaboration and diverse perspectives in language design and software engineering was also emphasized.

    • talk/rob2019a Creating the Go programming language with Rob Pike & Robert Griesemer. Sep 10, 2019.
    • talk/rob2019b
      Rob Pike. A Brief History of Go. Dec 12, 2019.

      Summary: In this episode of the GolangSyd Meetup, Rob Pike delivers a talk titled "A Brief History of Go" on December 12, 2019. The video of the talk can be found on YouTube, and the audio has been enhanced to provide a better listening experience. Unfortunately, the slides from the talk are not available. During his speech, Pike reflects on the origins and development of the Go programming language. He discusses the challenges faced in creating the language and highlights its success and ongoing updates. The name "Go" is derived from the first two letters of "Google, " emphasizing the language's connection to the company. Pike also explores the collaborative efforts of individuals in organizing conferences and distributing software, showcasing the language's progress over the course of two years. He mentions a significant conference in April 2013 that played a crucial role in promoting Go. The evolution and popularity of gopher figurines are also discussed. Pike mentions their distribution and their particular appeal in China. He highlights a well-designed figurine by Renee and a strong figurine released in 2016. Additionally, he mentions the launch of a language-related project. The importance of the go-to process in management and deployment is emphasized. Pike explains the benefits of faster testing with a cache version and introduces three proposals for language changes. He also mentions an unexpected surprise related to these proposals. The episode celebrates the 10th anniversary of Open Source Police, a community with 115, 000 members. Pike highlights the proposal-making process, the scaling back of proposals, and the various community projects that have been undertaken. He expresses gratitude for the support received and reflects on the challenges faced in the early years of the project. Pike acknowledges the difficulties in managing a community at the start of a project but expresses optimism about the progress that has been made. He emphasizes the importance of effective community management from the beginning. Overall, this episode provides a comprehensive overview of the development and improvement of the Go programming language. Pike's insights and reflections offer valuable insights into the challenges and successes of creating and managing a programming language, as well as the importance of community involvement and collaboration.

    • talk/rob2020 A Rob Pike Interview. (Date Unclear) Apr 30, 2020.
    • talk/rob2021
      The Go Programming Language and Environment. John Lions Distinguished Lecture, UNSW, May 27, 2021.

      Summary: In this video episode titled "The Go Programming Language and Environment, " the last scheduled speaker was unable to attend due to illness. However, Rob Pike, a Google engineer and co-creator of the Go programming language, stepped in to speak. Pike expressed his gratitude for being able to attend virtually and shared his admiration for John Lyons, who had a significant influence on his career. He also mentioned how encounters with Lyons and an Australian named Ian Johnston led him to Bell Labs and eventually to Australia. Pike then delved into the success of the Go programming language. Initially disliked, Go has gained popularity in cloud computing due to its ability to address challenges faced by other languages. It offers scalability, security, performance, and automation. The language's success can be attributed to its reliable libraries, long-term stability, and better software writing capabilities. Go was designed with scalability in mind, focusing on concurrency and multi-core CPUs. One of the challenges in software development is the lack of multi-core languages and coordinating massive compute clusters. Building tools for languages like C++ and Java can be difficult due to their complexity and slow compilation. Pike discussed how Google's transition to a new build system reduced binary size by specifying dependencies more precisely. The video episode provides a comprehensive overview of Go programming, covering topics such as web server structure, interfaces, concurrency, and building a rate limiter. It explains how Go utilizes simple mechanisms like maps and arrays to compensate for the lack of parametric polymorphism, allowing for compatibility among different implementations. The significance of interfaces in Go is also highlighted, emphasizing their simplicity and flexibility. Pike further discussed how Go introduced goroutines for efficient parallelism and concurrency, and how channels and the select statement are used for communication and synchronization. The simplicity and safety of Go programming were emphasized, along with the importance of building libraries with built-in capacity. Go's safety features, including no pointer arithmetic and indexing checks, contribute to its reputation as a secure language. The video episode also touched on the evolution of Go's project structure, known as GOPATH, into the current module system, and its impact on program reasoning. Pike expressed his desire for additional language features like channel packages and multiplexers, as well as the difficulties faced in trying to make networking and channels work together. Overall, the episode highlighted the success and advantages of the Go programming language, including its compatibility, performance, and strong library support. Pike emphasized the importance of collaboration and code sharing in creating a thriving ecosystem in software development. The episode concluded with Pike expressing appreciation for a participant who couldn't attend and mentioning upcoming talks.

    • [talk/rob2023] What We Got Right, What We Got Wrong. GopherCon Australia 2023. Nov 10, 2023.

  • Robert Griesemer. (Dr. Robert Griesemer) GitHub, Twitter

    • Alma mater: ETH Zürich
    • paper/robert1993 A Programming Language for Vector Computers. Doctor Dissertation. 1993.
    • talk/robert2012a
      E2E: Erik Meijer and Robert Griesemer. Going Go. Lang.NEXT. Mar 16, 2012.

      Summary: In this episode of E2E, Erik Meijer interviews Robert Griesemer, the designer of the Go programming language. Go is a concurrent, garbage-collected systems programming language with fast compilation. The conversation covers various topics related to Go and its suitability as a native language. The discussion begins with the question of whether Go is a native language. Griesemer explains that Go can be compiled to native code and has scripting capabilities, making it a versatile language for native development. He highlights the advantages of using Go, such as fast compilation and execution, as well as a new build tool called 'bill' that simplifies the development process. The conversation then delves into the significance of compilers in programming. Griesemer explains that faster startup times and code optimization are key benefits of using compilers. He also explores techniques used to optimize startup time in the JVM and the benefits of using native languages and natively compiled binaries. The philosophy of error handling in Go is another topic of discussion. Griesemer emphasizes the importance of handling errors rather than ignoring them and explains how Go simplifies error handling with its multiple return values feature. He also discusses different approaches to error handling, including the use of special error types and panics, and highlights the need to treat exceptional situations as such and not use exception handling as a control flow mechanism. The significance of interfaces in object-oriented programming, particularly in Go, is also explored. Griesemer explains how Go allows methods to be attached to various types and the use of interface types as specifications of methods. He suggests that implementation inheritance may be overrated and that embedding another type can achieve similar results. The Go programming language provides primitives for forwarding and delegation, allowing developers to build these concepts themselves. The debate surrounding the inclusion of generics in programming languages, particularly in the context of C++, is another topic discussed. Griesemer acknowledges the benefits of generics, such as improved code reusability and type safety, but also acknowledges the challenges they bring, including integration with existing language features. He discusses the trade-offs and challenges of using templates and explores alternative approaches to generics. The conversation concludes with a discussion of Go routines, which are lightweight threads in Go that offer strong support for concurrency. Griesemer explains their implementation and use case, as well as the benefits of using channels for communication between Go routines. Overall, the conversation provides valuable insights into the design and features of the Go programming language, making it a must-listen for developers interested in Go and native language development.

    • talk/robert2012b
      Go In Three Easy Pieces. Mar 19, 2012.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Lang NEXT 2012 Go In Three Easy Pieces, " the speakers discuss various aspects of the Go programming language. They highlight its simplicity, compact size, and strong concurrency support, which have contributed to its growing popularity among developers. The episode begins by explaining the unique features of Go, such as its efficient implementation, powerful standard library, and a range of development tools. The language emphasizes comprehensibility and simplicity, making it easier for developers to understand and write code. It also has a different approach to exception handling and object-oriented programming, allowing methods to be defined without classes and providing built-in support for concurrency. The speakers then delve into the topic of string methods and type compatibility in Go. They explain how to use string methods using dot notation and static dispatch, and discuss the advantages of using them. They also discuss explicit conversion, particularly in the context of numeric types. The episode introduces interfaces and their ability to compose software effectively, with examples of dynamic dispatch and plug and play compatibility. The benefits of using interfaces in programming, such as flexible code reuse and the ability to interact with code without modification, are highlighted. The challenges of designing object hierarchies and implementing interfaces are also discussed. Next, the speakers discuss the use of file handlers in an HTTP application and the use of Ingo to present mandible images. They explain the implementation of a struct with various properties for the image and the methods used to generate it. The episode also mentions the use of a library function to encode the image as a PNG file. Additionally, the speakers discuss the use of closure generators to analyze the performance of a Mandelbrot server by measuring task execution time. The episode then focuses on the speed and efficiency of the Go programming language. It explains how Go can run code quickly and safely with features like garbage collection. The use of go routines and channels for lightweight and flexible code implementation is discussed. Channels are used for communication and synchronization between go routines, eliminating the need for manual synchronization. The speakers also discuss a typical Go concurrency pattern using channels and closures, as well as the concept of a work scheduler for efficient task execution. The process of transforming sequential code into concurrent code is explained, highlighting the benefits of faster computation and speedup. The episode concludes by discussing deferred statements in Go, which allow functions to be launched and suspended before executing the body. The panic and recovery mechanisms in Go for exception handling are also explained. The launch of Go is mentioned, highlighting its stability and backward compatibility. The use of Go in startups and its availability on App Engine are also mentioned. The episode ends by emphasizing the significance of language support in providing effective concurrency support in Go.

    • talk/robert2012c
      Lang.NEXT 2012 Expert Panel: Native Languages. Apr 11, 2012.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "Lang NEXT 2012 Expert Panel: Native Languages, " a panel of experts discusses the advantages and limitations of native code programming. The panelists share their experiences and preferences, with some favoring native code for its speed, efficiency, and control. They emphasize the importance of using the most advantageous mechanism for each situation, comparing it to the choice of programming languages for specific tasks. The panelists discuss the benefits of native code execution, such as optimized user experiences and the ability to work closely with hardware. They also highlight the ability to directly call C code as a major advantage of native code. However, they acknowledge the potential issues with virtual machine (VM) implementation. The panelists also explore the advantages and disadvantages of native code and managed code. Native code offers speed and control, while managed code allows for advanced processing during load time. The choice between the two depends on the biggest cost for the application. The panelists discuss the challenges faced by native languages in achieving interoperability and language design. They mention the development of protocols for interoperability by companies like Google and Facebook. The panel expresses optimism about research advancements in this area and the significance of a common interface for plug-and-play compatibility. The video also highlights the shift in Facebook's backend development from PHP to C++. This change has been driven by the need for more efficient power consumption and improved performance. The use of C++ allows for a more efficient use of power per user and enables the development of high-performance ads. The panelists discuss the trade-off between program productivity and performance in software design. They emphasize the importance of prevention over cure and the different approaches taken by managed and native languages. The significance of maintaining consistent databases in the web world is also emphasized. The video concludes with a discussion on the complexity of programming languages and the challenges of memory management. The panelists mention the need for research to determine the most complex language specification and highlight the trade-off between safety and efficiency in memory management. Overall, the episode emphasizes the importance of using the appropriate programming language for specific tasks and staying updated with advancements in the field. The panelists provide insights into the advantages and limitations of native code programming and the ongoing developments in the industry.

    • talk/robert2015
      The Evolution of Go. GopherCon 2015. Jul 28, 2015.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2015: Robert Griesemer - The Evolution of Go, " Robert Griesemer discusses the evolution of the Go programming language. Griesemer begins by sharing his background in programming languages, including studying under the creator of Pascal. He reflects on the challenges of creating a good programming language and the difficulty of maintaining productivity in his career. After programming in C++ for 15 years, Griesemer decides to start a new project to create a better language. He emphasizes the importance of simplicity, safety, and readability in language design. Griesemer believes that these principles are crucial in creating an easy-to-use and understandable language. He also discusses the decision-making process involved in language design and the importance of making certain aspects of programming easy to write. Griesemer mentions the lack of literature on language design but recommends two papers by Tony Hoare. He also discusses the process of brainstorming and the importance of direction and collaboration in language design. The video episode explores the evolution of programming languages, focusing on successors of Pascal and the programming language Oberon. Griesemer highlights the similarities and differences between Pascal and C, as well as the introduction of new features in languages like Modula-2 and Oberon. He also discusses the similarities between the programming languages Go and Oberon, emphasizing their shared origins in Oberon and the influence of C on Go. Griesemer then delves into the development of the Go programming language, highlighting its roots in Oberon and the incorporation of object orientation. He emphasizes the importance of object orientation and interfaces in Go, drawing inspiration from Smalltalk. Griesemer also discusses dynamic dispatch and the absence of generics in Go, explaining the challenges and the Go team's decision to prioritize established mechanisms. The team is still evaluating the implications of introducing generics. The development of the Go programming language involved a thorough testing process and emotional discussions among the small team of creators. The addition of Ross Cox improved the development process, and multiple independent implementations revealed bugs in both the compilers and the specification. The inclusion of the go types package further validated the code. The language has undergone significant changes, resulting in a more robust language with tools for easy adjustments and backward compatibility. The future of Go looks promising based on clear targets, available libraries and tools, market readiness, technological breakthroughs, and unique features. The video episode concludes by questioning whether Go will become mainstream and mentioning the need to unify the Go community. It also discusses pitfalls in language design, the history of programming languages, and how they reflect their creators. The episode wonders if the new language Co can be successful.

    • talk/robert2016a Lightning Talk: Alias Declarations for Gom: A proposal. GopherCon 2016. Oct 9, 2016.
    • talk/robert2016b
      Prototype your design!. dotGo 2016. Nov 29, 2016.

      Summary: In the video episode titled "dotGo 2016 - Robert Griesemer - Prototype your design!", Robert Griesemer discusses the importance of prototyping in software design. He explains how prototyping can inform the existing design and lead to a better final design. Griesemer starts by emphasizing the significance of the design phase in the software development process. He mentions Stanford University's five-step design process as an example of how designing and prototyping are important in various industries. He highlights that designers are not just thinkers, but also doers. The main focus of the episode is on language design, specifically multi-dimensional slice support in the Go programming language. Griesemer explains that the Go community has been working on finding a solution for two-dimensional indexing, which is still a challenge. He proposes a solution to improve readability and performance in Go through multi-dimensional indexing. To implement this proposal, Griesemer emphasizes the importance of a rewriter prototype. This prototype allows for the analysis of design options and avoids making drastic changes to the compiler. He explains how index expressions can be manually or automatically rewritten into method calls using special method names and the plus operator for clarity. Griesemer discusses the process of rewriting and modifying code in the Go programming language. He explains how new index expressions can be given meaning by calling specific methods. He also mentions the importance of rewriting the syntax tree instead of the source code, as it allows for changes to be made to existing libraries with minimal code modifications. The episode also touches on the use of a Go type checker to improve accuracy and efficiency in the language. Griesemer explains how rewriting binary additions can address missing types and serve as the core of the prototype for experimentation and refinement. Throughout the episode, Griesemer emphasizes the importance of concrete implementation for testing and refining design. He highlights the surprise discovery of effective index operators and questions if they are sufficient for certain problems. He concludes by reiterating the value of prototyping in programming. In summary, the video episode explores the importance of prototyping in software design, specifically in the context of multi-dimensional slice support in the Go programming language. Griesemer discusses the process of rewriting and modifying code, as well as the use of a Go type checker for accuracy and efficiency. He emphasizes the significance of concrete implementation and the role of prototyping in informing and improving the final design.

    • talk/robert2017
      Opening Keynote: Exporting Go. GopherCon SG 2017. May 29, 2017.

      Summary: In the opening keynote of GopherCon SG 2017, Robert Griesemer discusses the Go programming language and its use of packages to divide large projects. He compares the export and import mechanism of packages to the simpler times of the 1970s when C was invented. Griesemer highlights the importance of using header files in creating a library in C, as they allow for the explicit declaration of library interfaces, making it easier for the C compiler to compile the program. However, he also acknowledges the limitations and challenges of using header files, such as information leakage and potential performance issues in large systems. Griesemer explains that package serialization is important in programming languages as it allows the compiler to understand and communicate imported packages. He discusses the process of compiling Go packages and the need for serialization, as well as the use of dot o and dot a files for exporting and importing data. He mentions that object files can be read using a text editor and explains the structure and content of a pre-1. 7 compiler object file, which includes redundant and unnecessary information. To address these issues, Griesemer explains that a binary export format was adopted, which is more compact and efficient. The new format also includes additional information and allows for easy extension without a full-fledged parser. He discusses the serialization of package interfaces in Go, which involves representing the internal data structure as a graph. Griesemer explains a serialization algorithm in Go that can be used for any graph data structure, involving assigning unique integer values to nodes and writing out their content. Griesemer emphasizes the need to efficiently process export data by re-engineering it for indexing, reducing processing waste. He discusses the differences between textual and binary export formats, with the binary format being more space-efficient. However, challenges remain in processing only required fields. Griesemer suggests re-engineering export data to make it indexable for more efficient access, especially for large data structures like protocol buffers. Overall, Griesemer's keynote provides insights into the inner workings of import and export mechanisms in Go, and how these mechanisms enable robust separate compilation of packages. He discusses the historical context of these mechanisms and the design trade-offs that affect scalability. The talk highlights the importance of package serialization and the challenges involved in creating efficient and compact export formats.

    • talk/robert2017
      A brief overview of Go. Aug 28. 2017.

      Summary: In this episode of the video, Robert Griesemer, one of the designers of the Go programming language, gives a brief overview of Go and its key features. He starts by explaining that Go was developed by Google as an alternative to C++ and has gained significant success and growth since its release. It is highly regarded by developers and has between 500, 000 to a million users. Griesemer highlights the compactness, readability, and conciseness of Go, as well as its garbage collection feature and support for concurrency. He mentions that big tech companies like Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Uber, as well as companies like the New York Times, BBC, Amazon, and Walmart, use Go. It is also one of the fastest-growing languages in China. The unique features of Go are discussed, including constant declarations and powerful composite literal constructors. Griesemer explains the simplified syntax and powerful constructors of a scripted language, as well as the use of functions as first-class objects and closures. He showcases a mathematical matrix multiplication example to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of Go. The concept of methods and interfaces in an object-oriented language without classes or inheritance is also explained. Griesemer addresses the lack of support for multi-dimensional matrices and provides a workaround. He also mentions dynamic dispatch in programming. The use of goroutines and channels in concurrent programming is introduced. Channels in Go are used for communication and synchronization between goroutines, allowing for efficient communication without sharing memory. Griesemer discusses the use of channels in Go for efficient communication between goroutines, highlighting their cost-effectiveness and efficiency in terms of memory usage and communication. The author then explores the use of concurrency in matrix multiplication. They discuss their experiment of rewriting code using concurrent concurrency and explain the use of goroutines and wait groups. The performance differences between traditional and concurrent multiplication are also discussed. The features and benefits of Go are further discussed, including its standard library, platform independence, and tools for manipulating the language. The ease of writing an HTTP server in Go and its popularity for containerization and cloud environments are highlighted. The text concludes by mentioning the tools and features of the Co programming language, as well as the challenges of using C++ in scientific computation with Go. The Go programming language has an active community and extensive libraries, with increasing popularity and regular conferences and meetups worldwide. The community is working on improving dependency management, user experience, and inclusivity, with the goal of making Go the language of choice for cloud systems.

    • talk/robert2019
      Go is 10! Now What?. Gopherpalooza 2019. Dec 2, 2019.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Go is 10! Now What?" by Robert Griesemer, one of the creators of the Go programming language, he reflects on the 10-year anniversary of Go and discusses its developmental milestones and future plans. Griesemer begins by acknowledging the growth and success of Go over the past decade. He highlights the thriving community with numerous conferences and meetups worldwide. According to the 2019 JetBrains developer survey, Go is the third most wanted language for learning, and over one-third of developers plan to learn it in 2019. Companies like Pound and Capital One praise Go for its simplicity, strong typing, concurrency support, garbage collection, and fast compilation times. The development of Go started in 2007 out of frustration with existing languages, and it was publicly released after two years. Griesemer discusses the process leading up to the first public release of a project, including negotiations, decision-making, and making changes. Despite potential failures, the project was successfully released, resulting in positive and overwhelming responses. Griesemer also emphasizes the importance of clear goals, solid ideas, and external input in the project's success. He reflects on the challenges faced after the birth of their first baby and draws parallels to the importance of clear goals and external input in a project's success. The evolution of the Go programming language is another topic discussed in the episode. Griesemer emphasizes the importance of the compatibility guarantee and its impact on adoption. He also highlights the focus on community building and the proposal process for influencing the language's direction. The careful and gradual changes made to Go, including optional semicolons and the introduction of new functions, are mentioned. The proposal process itself is discussed in detail, outlining a simple four-step process that includes a GitHub issue, discussion, design document, and final decision by the code team. Griesemer stresses the need for well-written proposals that address important issues, have minimal impact, and provide clear solutions. He also mentions the introduction of proposal reviews and the consideration of existing code impact. Looking towards the future, Griesemer mentions the Go team's goals, which include module support and the possibility of breaking backward compatibility with modules. The team plans to make API changes, focus on generics and module support, and enable more community contributions as the language matures. In conclusion, the video episode provides valuable insights into the 10-year journey of the Go programming language. It highlights its growth, success, and the challenges faced along the way. Griesemer's reflections and future plans for Go demonstrate the team's commitment to continuous improvement and community involvement.

    • talk/robert2020a The latest on Generics with Robert Griesemer and Ian Lance Taylor. Jul 21, 2020.
    • talk/robert2020b
      Typing [Generic] Go. Nov 11, 2020.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2020: Robert Griesemer - Typing [Generic] Go, " Robert Griesemer discusses the latest progress made on generics in the Go programming language. The episode begins by introducing the concept of generics and their importance in improving type safety, efficiency, and performance in Go. Griesemer explains that the design draft for generics in Go introduces the notion of type parameters and constraints. These type parameters simplify the design and ensure backward compatibility. He goes on to discuss how type parameters and constraints are used in function parameter lists and provides a concrete example of a generic API in the standard library. The motivation for implementing generics in Go is also explained, with Griesemer highlighting the need for type safety and the ability to work with different types without sacrificing performance. He discusses the concept of constraints and how they are implemented as interfaces to ensure type safety. The episode delves into the specifics of generic functions and type parameters in Go. Griesemer explains that type parameters are visible throughout the function and can be used in all parameter lists. He emphasizes the importance of satisfying constraints imposed by the type parameter and explains the process of instantiation, where the type argument is substituted for the type parameter in the function signature. Type checking and instantiation in Go are also covered, with Griesemer providing an example of instantiating a generic sort function. He discusses the benefits of using generic types and type parameters in Go, but also acknowledges the need for constraints to ensure type safety. The episode further explores the concept of type argument inference in generic functions, discussing the process of matching type structures and the use of type unification. Griesemer mentions the limitations of type inference and the need for providing required methods. The use of typelists in Go to write generic functions that can work with different types, including derived types, is also explained. Griesemer introduces the concept of constraints, such as the 'ordered' constraint, which ensures that the types used in the function support certain operators. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the progress made on generics in the Go programming language. Griesemer emphasizes the importance of adopting generics and highlights the benefits they bring to Go. The Go team is actively working on implementing generics and welcomes feedback from the community. The current design is backward compatible and fits nicely with existing Go code, but caution should be exercised to avoid unnecessary complexity and consider potential drawbacks.

    • talk/robert2021
      Generics! Dec 17, 2021.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2021 video episode titled "Generics!", Go Team members Robert Griesemer and Ian Lance Taylor discuss the upcoming release of Go 1. 18 and its support for generic functions and types. They highlight the expressive power that generics bring to the Go programming language and the responsibilities that come with using them effectively. The new features in Go 1. 18 include type parameters, more powerful interface types, and improved type inference. These features eliminate the need for type arguments, making programming with generics in Go more efficient. The update also introduces type constraints, which define valid types for a parameter, and interfaces that define sets of methods. Griesemer and Taylor provide guidance on when and where to use generic features in Go. They suggest starting with functions instead of type parameters and using type parameters for functions that operate on special types without assumptions about element types. They emphasize the flexibility and efficiency of type parameters compared to reflection or interface types, allowing for general-purpose data structures and fully type-checked code. The speakers also discuss the importance of understanding meta types and the use of interfaces as constraints in generic functions. They mention the introduction of syntactic sugar and the use of type parameters with slice types. They also touch upon type inference and its role in deducing type arguments from type parameter constraints. Griesemer and Taylor highlight the need to keep Go code readable, maintainable, and performing well when using generics. They advise using type parameters when multiple types share a common method with the same implementation and using interface types for generic programming and reading data from any value. They mention that reflection can be used in cases where type parameters are not helpful. Overall, the upcoming release of Go 1. 18 with support for generics brings significant expressive power to the language. Griesemer and Taylor provide valuable guidance on how to use generics effectively, emphasizing the importance of choosing the appropriate approach based on the specific requirements of the code. By following their advice, developers can leverage the benefits of generics while maintaining code readability, maintainability, and performance.

  • Ken Thompson. (Kenneth Lane Thompson, M. Sc.) (Retired)

    • Alma mater: UC Berkeley
    • talk/ken1982a
      The UNIX System: Making Computers More Productive. 1982.

      Summary:In this episode of the AT&T Archives, titled "The UNIX Operating System, " the host and narrator, Victor Vyssotsky, takes us back to the late 1960s when Bell Laboratories computer scientists Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson embarked on a project inspired by the Multics operating system. Ritchie and Thompson aimed to create a more useful, flexible, and portable system for programmers to work with. The UNIX system, as it came to be known, revolutionized software development by providing a structure consisting of the kernel, shell, and useful programs. This structure simplified interactions and enabled efficient programming. With just a few lines of code, various applications could be created, making the UNIX system highly productive and efficient. One of the key benefits of the UNIX system is its ability to combine programs for different tasks using pipelining. The video highlights the example of a spell-checking program, which demonstrates how existing UNIX programs can be utilized to identify potential spelling mistakes in sentences. By splitting the sentence into words, comparing them to a dictionary, converting them to lowercase, and sorting them alphabetically, spelling mistakes can be easily identified and corrected. The UNIX system also offers a large collection of pre-built tools and the ability to easily build new ones. Powerful pattern matching algorithms can be quickly packaged into UNIX programs and shared with the community, further enhancing productivity and efficiency. The video also delves into the structure of operating systems and the need for better design tools for integrated circuits. It introduces Steve Johnson and his program Elgin, which was developed for logic circuit designs. The UNIX system, with its separate programs and hierarchical directory structure, proved to be a valuable tool for circuit design. Furthermore, the video mentions the creation of the C language by Dennis Ritchie during the development of the UNIX system. The C language allowed programmers to have more control and write operating systems that could be easily ported to different machines. This further solidified the popularity of the UNIX system for programming and its compatibility with other languages. In conclusion, the video emphasizes the evolution of computer technology and the need for more user-friendly design tools. The UNIX system, with its adaptable and efficient nature, played a significant role in shaping software development and continues to be a powerful tool for programmers.

    • talk/ken1982b
      UNIX: Making Computers Easier To Use.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "The Unix System: Making Computers Easier to Use - 1982, " the hosts discuss the development and significance of the UNIX operating system. The episode is aimed at students interested in engineering, math, computer science, and other sciences. It was released in December 1982, along with another film that provided a more detailed discussion of UNIX for computer science majors and corporate trainees. The hosts begin by explaining the distinction between application software and operating systems, emphasizing the role of operating systems in simplifying computing processes. They highlight the three main components of UNIX and provide an example of its practical use in finding spelling mistakes. They explain the process of converting sentences into individual words, sorting them alphabetically, and comparing them against a dictionary. Programs like 'make words' and 'lowercase' are used to identify and correct spelling mistakes. However, the hosts acknowledge that certain words like jargon and proper names may not be recognized as mistakes. They suggest using these words to improve the dictionary for future spell-checking. The hosts also discuss the productivity and flexibility of the UNIX system. They compare its file system to a file cabinet, allowing for easy retrieval of files. The flexibility of file formats makes programming easier, and the indexing system files are determined by the programmer. UNIX enables easy movement of data between files and the ability to process any file with any program. The hosts highlight the fundamental contribution of UNIX in pipelining, where multiple programs can be connected. The episode demonstrates how UNIX pipelines can be used for finding spelling errors and creating a talking calculator. It mentions the use of existing tools in UNIX program development and emphasizes the value of UNIX utilities in building valuable applications. The hosts also mention the development of the writers workbench, including a proofreading program, to improve documentation. This program analyzes the style of written text and suggests improvements. While UNIX has been instrumental in the development of programs and provides pre-existing modules, the hosts acknowledge the need for further advancements in computer technology to make it more user-friendly. Overall, the video episode provides a comprehensive overview of the UNIX operating system, its practical applications, and its contributions to the field of computing. It highlights the importance of UNIX in simplifying computing processes, improving productivity, and enabling the development of valuable applications.

    • talk/ken1982c
      Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie Explain UNIX (Bell Labs).

      Summary:Segment from an AT&T Bell Labs (BTL) promotional film (circa 1980s) featuring UNIX creators Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie briefly explaining the UNIX environment. In cameo roles you'll see UNIX luminaries Greg Chesson (in the wine red shirt) and Doug McIlroy (to the foreground of Greg). Also featured is a classic ASR-33 Teletype, BLIT displays (developed by Rob Pike, then of the Labs as well), and much more.

    • talk/ken1998
      Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie. National Medal of Technology Awards. 1998.

      Summary:Ladies and gentlemen the recipients of the 1998 National Medal of Technology Awards the recipients of the 1998 National Medal of Technology the team of Kenneth L Thompson and Dennis M Richie from Bell Laboratories loosened technology for Co inventing the UNIX operating system and the C programming language which together have led to enormous advances in computer hardware software and networking systems and have stimulated the growth of an entire industry thereby enhancing American leadership in the information.

    • talk/ken2013
      Systems Architecture, Design, Engineering, and Verification. Jan 17, 2013.

      Summary:Episode Title: Systems Architecture, Design, Engineering, and VerificationIn this episode, the panel discussion on systems architecture design and verification is chaired by Dahlia Malkhi. The panel features experts in the field, including Fernando J. Corbato, E. Allen Emerson, Joseph Sifakis, and Ken Thompson. The discussion explores the relationship between research and practice in the systems area of computer science. The panelists begin by reviewing their past award-winning research and its impact on the computing world. They emphasize the importance of algorithms in software development and the potential of artificial intelligence. The goal of simplifying computing and creating a small, simple operating system is highlighted. The panelists also discuss the challenges of implementing new solutions and the ability to store vast amounts of digital information. The influence of Turing's universal machine on operating systems is discussed, along with the challenges he faced. The evolution of time sharing in computing and the development of the Multics operating system are also mentioned, as they had a significant impact on computing. The panelists reflect on the legacy of early computing systems and their shaping of our approach to computing today. They mention the 2007 Turing Award recipients for developing model checking as an effective verification technology. The concept of model checking, challenges of expressiveness and efficiency, and the importance of reactive systems are discussed. The need for verification and system design to prevent errors and accidents is emphasized. The panelists also discuss the challenges and importance of rigorous system design in cyber-physical systems. They call for a methodology that formalizes the process from requirements to implementation and highlight the lack of coherence in the current system development flow. The significance of system design in computer science and the need for more attention from research communities are emphasized. The panel touches on the differences between transformational software and reactive systems and mentions the challenge of integrating heterogeneous mix technicality systems. They also discuss the importance of luck in computer research success and the synergism in system building. The panel concludes by discussing the future of operating systems, including UNIX and Linux, and the challenges and innovations they may face. Concerns about the complexity of computer systems and the risks of storing personal data in the cloud are highlighted. The need for users to be aware of the reliability and trustworthiness of cloud providers is emphasized. Overall, the panel discussion provides valuable insights into the relationship between systems research and engineering practice, highlighting the importance of proper system design, verification, and the need for practical applications in computer science.

    • talk/ken2019a
      The Thompson and Ritchie Story. Feb 18, 2019.

      Summary:In this episode of "Pushing the Limits of Technology: The Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie Story, " we delve into the groundbreaking development and lasting impact of Unix, the revolutionary operating system created by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie. Prior to Unix, computers were large and expensive, but this game-changing operating system allowed for multitasking and personal use, forever changing the landscape of technology. The episode begins by introducing Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, two brilliant minds who worked together at Bell Labs. They were determined to create an alternative to the batch processing systems that dominated the computer industry at the time. Their collaboration resulted in the birth of Unix, a multi-tasking, multi-user operating system that would revolutionize the field. The host shares their personal experience with Unix, highlighting the significant role it played in their life. They recall the excitement of being able to play games on their computer, thanks to Unix's multitasking capabilities. This personal anecdote helps to illustrate the impact that Unix had on everyday users, as it allowed for personal use and entertainment on a scale that was previously unimaginable. The episode also sheds light on the remarkable abilities and dedication of Dennis Ritchie. His mathematical prowess and unwavering commitment to his work were instrumental in the development of Unix. Ritchie's contributions to the field of computer science cannot be overstated, and his partnership with Thompson was a key factor in the success of Unix. Throughout the episode, the close collaboration between Thompson and Ritchie is emphasized. Their shared vision and complementary skills allowed them to push the boundaries of technology and create an operating system that would shape the future of computing. Their work at Bell Labs paved the way for the modern technology we rely on today. Even though Unix was developed decades ago, its impact continues to be felt in our everyday lives. The episode concludes by highlighting the lasting legacy of Unix and its ongoing influence on technology. From the way we use computers to the development of subsequent operating systems, Unix's impact is undeniable. In summary, this episode of "Pushing the Limits of Technology: The Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie Story" explores the development and impact of Unix, a groundbreaking operating system created by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie. Their collaboration at Bell Labs resulted in the creation of a multi-tasking, multi-user operating system that revolutionized the field of technology. Unix's lasting legacy continues to shape our everyday lives, making it a pivotal milestone in the history of computing.

    • talk/ken2019b
      Brian Kernighan interviews Ken Thompson. VCF East 2019. May 4, 2019.

      Summary:In this video episode titled "Ken Thompson interviewed by Brian Kernighan at VCF East 2019, " Ken Thompson, co-inventor of the UNIX operating system, is interviewed by Brian Kernighan. The episode, which took place on May 4, 2019, provides insights into Thompson's journey at Bell Labs and his contributions to the field of computer science. The fireside chat begins with an introduction and updates from the Vintage Computer Federation (VCF). Thompson then shares how he ended up at Bell Labs, where he worked alongside Dennis Ritchie to create UNIX. He reminisces about the origins of UNIX and reveals that they were only three weeks away from creating an operating system. Thompson discusses the challenges they faced while working on the PDP-11 computer and the importance of porting and testing assembly language for DC. He highlights the introduction of disk and communications equipment, which facilitated the rapid development of UNIX. One of the significant contributions of UNIX was the invention of pipes, allowing for communication between processes. The evolution of interprocess communication is also explored, from a worthless interface to a groundbreaking idea through the implementation of pipes. The development of redirecting IO and the creation of a shell are discussed, as well as the origin of the file search tool grep and its connection to AT&T's slogan. The video episode also delves into the evolution of programming languages, from early languages like B Unbond to the present work with Go. Thompson praises the TMG compiler on the PDB seven computer for its beautiful handwriting and lack of errors. The importance of Fortran in computer sales is mentioned, along with the author's personal experience with writing Fortran code. Additionally, the episode touches on Thompson's journey with chess, from becoming hooked on the game to developing a chess machine. The author shares their passion for watching chess tournaments online and participating in a chess tournament with a C program they had created. They then describe the process of building a chess machine and the machine's success as the world and US champion. Overall, this video episode provides a comprehensive overview of Ken Thompson's contributions to the field of computer science, including his work on UNIX, programming languages, and chess. The interview with Brian Kernighan offers valuable insights into Thompson's journey and the development of groundbreaking technologies.

    • talk/ken2023. Closing Keynote. SCaLE 20x. Mar 12, 2023. https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/20x/presentations/keynote-ken-thompson

  • Ian Taylor. (Ian Lance Taylor, B. Sc.) Website, GitHub, Quora

    • Alma mater: Yale University
    • talk/ian2007
      GCC: Current Topics and Future Directions. February 27, 2007.

      Summary:In this episode of Google Video Tech Talks, Ian Lance Taylor, a member of Google's GCC team, discusses the current topics and future directions of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). GCC is a widely used C and C++ compiler that has been under active development for over twenty years. Taylor begins by explaining that the release process of GCC has become more rigorous in recent years, resulting in a more stable product. The project has seen high activity with numerous contributors. He mentions that the compiler is undergoing a major rewrite to improve accuracy and performance, with the release of GCC 4. 2 expected in April or May. One of the main topics discussed in the episode is the improvement in warning about invalid aliasing. Taylor emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing aliasing issues, as accessing memory through different pointers can have unpredictable consequences. He also mentions the implementation of a warning by GCC for type punning that may break strict aliasing rules. The episode also explores the limitations of the language standard and the implications of signed overflow in loop execution. Taylor highlights the new options introduced by GCC 4. 2 to address this issue, including loop optimization and a faster preprocessor. These improvements aim to improve compilation speed, especially for projects with many header files. The role of GCC in the development of virtual machines and intermediate languages is also discussed. Ongoing projects related to GCC include efforts to make it a compiler for fully free software and generate a specific intermediate language. Taylor mentions the University of Indiana's work on implementing whole program optimization in GCC, which allows for inlining functions across different files and improves program efficiency. The episode concludes by discussing the challenges of optimizing code using profile feedback, precompiled headers, auto vectorization, and memory optimization in the GCC compiler. Taylor mentions ongoing improvements by Google developers and collaboration with LOV. Overall, this episode provides a comprehensive overview of the current topics and future directions of GCC. It highlights the importance of addressing aliasing issues, the improvements in GCC 4. 2, and the ongoing projects related to GCC's role in virtual machines and intermediate languages. The challenges of optimizing code and the collaboration between Google and other organizations are also discussed.

    • talk/ian2018
      Transition to Go 2. Gopherpalooza 2018. Oct 24, 2018

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Gopherpalooza 2018 - Ian Lance Taylor: Transition to Go 2, " Ian Lance Taylor, a member of the Go team at Google, discusses the challenges of transitioning the Go programming language to its next version, Go 2. Taylor has been involved with Go since 2008 and has extensive experience in writing free software. The episode begins by highlighting the journey of Go from its early days to its current state of stability. The release of Go 1 in 2012 provided a stable platform for users, leading to the growth of the Go community. However, last year, the Go team announced significant changes to the language, including modules, generics, and improvements to error handling. Taylor focuses on how Go will move forward with these changes. The importance of managing the transition between programming language versions is emphasized, using C as an example. Despite undergoing significant changes, C has maintained backward compatibility by introducing new keywords and identifiers. On the other hand, C++ has experienced more significant changes and potential compilation errors. Both languages offer options to specify the language version during compilation. The text also discusses the importance of backward compatibility in programming languages, using C++ and Java as examples. It highlights the challenges of maintaining compatibility while making changes to the language. Java's process of deprecating features and the potential removal of deprecated functions are mentioned. The evolution of Perl and Python programming languages is also discussed. Perl 6 faced a lengthy transition period and competition from other languages, while Python 3 has become highly successful but faced challenges in its transition from Python 2. The lack of backward compatibility and the need for code rewriting and library adaptation have slowed down the transition process for Python 3. The text emphasizes the importance of removing features in programming languages without breaking existing code. It suggests using tools like go fix to automatically rename identifiers and removing features that break code with simple workarounds to improve the user experience. The idea of recording the version of the Go language used to build a package in the go. mod file is discussed. The importance of version compatibility is emphasized, and the suggestion is made to compile Go code with different language versions to ensure compatibility with older libraries and utilize new language features. The episode concludes by mentioning the need for compatibility between different versions of packages and suggests possible solutions. The transition from Go 1 to Go 2 is highlighted, and the possibility of a deprecation plan for older versions is mentioned. Taylor expresses excitement and gratitude for his experience with Go.

    • talk/ian2019a
      Generics in Go. GopherCon 2019. Aug 27, 2019

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2019: Ian Lance Taylor - Generics in Go, " Ian Lance Taylor discusses the advantages and requirements for implementing generics in the Go programming language. He highlights the need for generics and explains that the lack of this feature is a major problem in Go. Taylor provides examples to illustrate the limitations of not having generics in Go. He discusses the challenges and limitations of using interfaces as a form of generics and suggests alternative approaches. He argues that generics would allow for more efficient and reliable code reuse by eliminating the need for repetitive coding and testing. The importance of static type checking for efficient and reliable code reuse is emphasized throughout the episode. Taylor explains that generics can be added by introducing type parameters, and in most cases, the compiler can deduce the type argument, making calling a generic function similar to any other function in Go. The concept of type parameters and contracts in the Go programming language is explored. Taylor explains how type parameters define the types of arguments allowed in generic functions and the operations that can be performed on them. He also introduces the concept of contracts, which describe the relationship between the implementation and callers of a generic function. Taylor provides examples of functions that utilize sequence contracts and explains the use of contracts to specify the types that a generic function is expected to work with. He emphasizes the need for natural usage and easy debugging when implementing generics in Go, and highlights the challenge of maintaining simplicity while introducing this feature. The episode concludes by discussing the progress and plans for implementing generics in Go. Taylor emphasizes the importance of feedback and aims to design a system that allows users to write generic code without complicating the language. He expects further adjustments based on feedback and aims to propose the finalized design for future versions of Go. Overall, the video episode provides a comprehensive overview of the advantages and requirements for implementing generics in the Go programming language. It highlights the need for this feature and explores different approaches and concepts related to generics. The episode concludes with a focus on the importance of user feedback and the goal of designing a system that allows for easy and efficient generic code writing in Go.

    • talk/ian2020
      Go with Ian Lance Taylor. CppCast. Aug 9, 2020.

      Summary:In episode 259 of CppCast, Rob and Jason are joined by Ian Lance Taylor from Google to discuss the Go programming language. The episode begins with a discussion about various topics covered in different episodes of cppcast, including hurricanes and their impact, the benefits of using PCH support via CMake, the significance of the gold linker, the advantages of using Conan package manager, Go's package manager, and a tool for embedding content into SQL source binaries. The hosts then dive into the main topic of the episode, which is the Go programming language. They start by highlighting the differences between Go and C++, emphasizing Go's simplicity and ease of learning. They mention that Go was created in 2007 to address the slow build times and increasing complexity of C++. Go has built-in support for multi-threading and garbage collection, making it suitable for writing networking servers and various other applications. The discussion moves on to the use of Go at Google, where it has gained popularity and is used in various projects. The hosts talk about Go's features, such as go routines, channels, and the select statement, which enable the creation of new execution threads and communication between them. They also mention that while Go currently does not have generics, there is a push to add them in a way that aligns with the language's principles, with the goal of having generics available by the Go 117 release. The hosts then explain the concept of type arguments and constraints in programming, and how they can improve code reliability. They compare the design and power differences between Go and C++, highlighting Go's simplicity, lack of specialization, and substitution failure. They mention that Go is a statically typed language with dynamic components, similar to abstract-based classes in C++. It supports type reflection at runtime and does not have function overloading or implicit type conversion. The episode concludes with a discussion about the development process and design philosophy of the Go programming language. The hosts mention that Go encourages developers to write tests, resulting in better error messages. They also talk about the extensive standard library of Go, which includes support for network servers, HDP, and HTML. The hosts emphasize the importance of clarifying implementations in programming languages and encourage listeners to try out Go compared to C++. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the Go programming language, its features, and its use at Google. It highlights the simplicity and multi-threaded support of Go, as well as its potential future addition of generics. The hosts also discuss the development process and design philosophy of Go, emphasizing the importance of writing tests and clarifying implementations.

    • talk/ian2021a
      Using Generics in Go. Dec 6, 2021.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Go Day 2021 on Google Open Source Live | Using Generics in Go, " Ian Lance Taylor introduces the concept of generics in Go programming and discusses how to effectively use this new language feature. He begins by explaining the basics of generics, including type parameters and constraints. Taylor emphasizes the importance of writing code before defining types and provides guidelines for when to use generics and when not to use them. He highlights that generics should be used for code clarity rather than efficiency. He also mentions that type parameters can be used to create more general data structures and enable more efficient storage of data. The speaker provides examples of using generics to create functions and implement common methods for different types. He explains that type parameters are particularly useful when implementing methods that are the same for all relevant types, but not when interface types can provide the desired functionality. Taylor concludes the episode by mentioning that Go 1. 18 is expected to include support for generics, which will bring new possibilities for developers. He mentions the possibility of a generic function for sorting slices in future versions of Go. Overall, the video episode provides a comprehensive overview of generics in Go programming. It highlights the benefits of using type parameters and provides practical examples of their implementation. The speaker emphasizes the importance of using generics for code clarity and avoiding repetitive code. The episode concludes by mentioning the upcoming support for generics in Go 1. 18, which will undoubtedly enhance the programming experience for Go developers. For more information on Go programming and to stay updated on the latest developments, the video recommends visiting the team's website at golang. org. Additionally, the episode encourages listeners to check out all the Gaming Day sessions available on the Go Day 2021 event page.

    • talk/ian2021b
      Generics! Dec 17, 2021.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2021 video episode titled "Generics!", Go Team members Robert Griesemer and Ian Lance Taylor discuss the upcoming release of Go 1. 18 and its support for generic functions and types. They highlight the expressive power that generics bring to the Go programming language and the responsibilities that come with using them effectively. The new features in Go 1. 18 include type parameters, more powerful interface types, and improved type inference. These features eliminate the need for type arguments, making programming with generics in Go more efficient. The update also introduces type constraints, which define valid types for a parameter, and interfaces that define sets of methods. Griesemer and Taylor provide guidance on when and where to use generic features in Go. They suggest starting with functions instead of type parameters and using type parameters for functions that operate on special types without assumptions about element types. They emphasize the flexibility and efficiency of type parameters compared to reflection or interface types, allowing for general-purpose data structures and fully type-checked code. The speakers also discuss the importance of understanding meta types and the use of interfaces as constraints in generic functions. They mention the introduction of syntactic sugar and the use of type parameters with slice types. They also touch upon type inference and its role in deducing type arguments from type parameter constraints. Griesemer and Taylor highlight the need to keep Go code readable, maintainable, and performing well when using generics. They advise using type parameters when multiple types share a common method with the same implementation and using interface types for generic programming and reading data from any value. They mention that reflection can be used in cases where type parameters are not helpful. Overall, the upcoming release of Go 1. 18 with support for generics brings significant expressive power to the language. Griesemer and Taylor provide valuable guidance on how to use generics effectively, emphasizing the importance of choosing the appropriate approach based on the specific requirements of the code. By following their advice, developers can leverage the benefits of generics while maintaining code readability, maintainability, and performance.

  • Russ Cox. (Dr. Russell Stensby Cox) Website, Blog, GitHub, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube

    • Alma mater: MIT
    • paper/russ2008 An Extension-Oriented Compiler. Doctor Dissertation. Aug 20, 2008.
    • talk/russ2009 The Go Programming Language Promo. Nov 10, 2009.
    • talk/russ2012a
      A Tour of the Go Programming Language. Jun 24, 2012.

      Summary:In this video episode titled "A Tour of the Go Programming Language with Russ Cox, " Russ Cox, a software engineer at Google, gives a comprehensive overview of the Go programming language. He starts by explaining the motivation behind creating Go and its features, such as support for large distributed systems and concurrency. Cox delves into the concept of interfaces in Go and provides examples of how types can implement interfaces. He specifically highlights the Stringer interface, which allows values with a string method to be printed. He also discusses the flexibility of defining string methods on different data representations, such as offices and time durations. The video then moves on to discussing writers in Go, including how to write data and retrieve hashes using the fprintf and sum32 methods. Cox introduces multi-writers and the hex package's dumper function for writing hex dumps. He emphasizes the flexibility of implementing interfaces in Go, particularly the writer interface, which allows for interchangeable implementations. He explores the usage of the writer interface in various scenarios, such as writing data blocks and hash functions. The evolution of IO in Go programming is also covered in the video, with a focus on the significance of interfaces and reflection. Cox explains how interfaces have made Go programmers more productive but cautions that not everything can be done with them. He introduces reflection, which allows for type information and basic operations at runtime, but advises using it sparingly. The video further delves into the use of the reflect package in Go to implement printf functionality. Cox explains how the package can determine the type of a value and perform different actions based on its kind. He also mentions different variants of the printf verb in Go and how the tools used can be adapted to print in other formats like JSON. The video concludes with discussions on the conversion of data structures into encoded text using techniques such as json. marshall and xml. marshall. Cox provides an example of reading and decoding JSON from a file using Go programming language. He also mentions the use of reflection in Go for converting data to XML format and the efficiency of an XML package in parsing chat messages encoded in XML. Overall, this video episode provides a comprehensive tour of the Go programming language, covering its features, interfaces, writers, IO evolution, reflection, and data structure conversion.

    • talk/russ2012b
      A Tour of the Acme Editor. Sep 17, 2012.

      Summary:In this episode of "A Tour of the Acme Editor, " the hosts delve into the features and functionalities of Acme, a customizable text editor that was originally developed for Plan 9 but is now available on Unix systems. They begin by explaining how Acme allows for text execution and customization, with plugins in any language. They highlight the window layout tool that Acme offers, which allows users to customize screen size and automatically arrange windows for enhanced productivity. The hosts then discuss the various capabilities of Acme, such as window management, scrolling, text manipulation, command execution, and searching for specific words or files. They emphasize the efficiency of Acme's tips and shortcuts for text manipulation. The hosts also touch upon the advanced address syntax used in Acme for navigating files and selecting specific lines or patterns, highlighting its convenience in error detection and file searching. The episode further explores the ACME Dictionary Program, a shell script that displays word definitions when right-clicked. They introduce the 'win' program for editing and interacting with shell output. The hosts discuss the rich addressing and content synthesis capabilities of Acme windows, which enable tasks like mail reading, debugging, and music playing. Additionally, the hosts delve into the integration of Acme with various tools for programmers, including the Acme file system, which allows for mounting files into the kernel file tree. They discuss the use of plumbing rules in the Plan 9 operating system to interpret text and generate actions, such as opening files or launching web browsers. The episode also touches upon the use of Acme for streaming, test-driven development, and the creation of a new program called 'watch' for monitoring directory changes. Throughout the episode, the hosts share their experiences with Acme, including encountering compiler errors and fixing bugs related to JSON decoding. They conclude by highlighting Acme as a highly productive text-driven programming system. For more information, listeners are directed to visit http://research.swtch.com/acme

    • talk/russ2014
      Go from C to Go. GopherCon 2014. May 18, 2014

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2014 Go from C to Go by Russ Cox, " Russ Cox discusses the challenges of converting C code to Go code and proposes automating the process using a tool. The Go compiler, currently written in C, has limitations and rewriting it in Go would be more efficient. Cox provides a historical overview of the C programming language and its development, highlighting the differences between C and Go, such as control flow and program models. The goal is to automate the conversion process while maintaining the structure and clarity of the original code. Cox explains the concept of unions in the Go compiler and how converting structs to unions can save memory space. However, it can also lead to incorrect program behavior if multiple fields are used. Preserving semantics and comments in Go code is important, and Cox explains how the converter handles this. He also discusses the use of go-to statements in C programming and assembly programming, and the challenges in translating them into Go. Cox explores the process of analyzing the entire compiler source code to identify clusters of connected values and the use of return statements in code analysis. He provides examples of clusters and their types, highlighting the potential for program understanding tools and code analysis. The podcast episode concludes with an update on the progress of converting fragments of the compiler to Go and encourages users to try the Go 1. 3 beta to identify and fix bugs before the release. Cox mentions the challenges and opportunities in translating code from C to Go and the benefits of using profilers. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the challenges of converting C code to Go code and the approach taken by the Go team to automate the process.

    • talk/russ2015
      Go, Open Source, Community. GopherCon 2015. Jul 28, 2015.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2015 keynote speech, Russ Cox discusses the goals and challenges of the Go open-source project. He emphasizes the importance of scalable concurrency and collaborative software development. Cox mentions that Go has been successful in cloud software and open source projects due to its similarities with Google's internal code base. The speech highlights the features of Go that make scalable concurrency and software development easier. Go focuses on providing enough features for developers to build their own solutions and interoperability with others. The text discusses the usefulness of channels and goroutines in solving common problems in concurrent software, as well as the benefits of static typing and interfaces in Go. Cox also mentions the Go testing package and the importance of refactoring and program analysis in supporting automatic updates. He further discusses the establishment of shared conventions in the Go programming language and the benefits of open-source collaboration. The success of the Go programming language is attributed to its open-source nature, which allows for a diverse user base and access to resources. Google's open development process and acceptance of source code contributions from anyone contribute to the growth of the Go community. The role of the Go team at Google has shifted from development to guidance, focusing on coordinating changes and ensuring consistency. The team now focuses on code reviews and bug processing, while design and development are handled by the broader Go community. Cox also mentions the successful porting of Go to the ARM 64 architecture by a group of contributors led by Ihram Harvard Yano. This marks the first time architects outside of Google have accomplished this. The text discusses Google's approach to vendor in and the compatibility issues between various tools developed by users outside of Google. A public discussion was initiated to establish a common approach for import path rewriting and file format description. The importance of having a code of conduct in the Go community is emphasized to foster inclusivity and respect. Effective communication and a welcoming environment are highlighted as crucial for the growth of the community. Overall, the speech provides updates on the Go programming language and invites participation and feedback from the audience.

    • talk/russ2016
      Codebase Refactoring (with help from Go). Dec 5, 2016.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GothamGo 2016 Codebase Refactoring (with help from Go)" by Russ Cox, the challenges of working with large code bases in Go and the importance of scalability are discussed. Cox, who has been involved in the development of the Go Programming Language since its early stages, shares his insights on how Go can better assist in the refactoring of code package structures. The episode begins by highlighting the challenges faced when dealing with large code bases, such as Google's single repository, and emphasizes the need for efficient imports and minimizing unnecessary dependencies. Cox explains the reasons for splitting code into separate packages, which include improving manageability and reducing dependencies. Cox then discusses the process of codebase refactoring, suggesting breaking it down into three stages: making preliminary changes, updating the code to use the new API, and removing the old API. This gradual approach allows for easier review and submission of smaller commits, especially when dealing with code spread across multiple repositories. The podcast also delves into the challenges of achieving interchangeability in Go programming. While functions and types can be defined as interchangeable, moving a type from one package to another poses limitations. Cox mentions a solution implemented in 2011 but suggests it may not be ideal. He also highlights the difficulties faced in the Kubernetes project when moving types in a codebase. Cox proposes the addition of a mechanism to create interchangeable names for types and emphasizes the need for Go to support gradual code repair for moving types between packages. He expresses gratitude for input on the matter and mentions that the inclusion of type aliases is being reevaluated to determine the appropriate course of action. Overall, the podcast provides valuable insights into the challenges of working with large code bases in Go and offers suggestions for improving codebase refactoring and achieving interchangeability.

    • talk/russ2017
      The Future of Go. GopherCon 2017. Jul 24, 2017.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2017: Russ Cox - The Future of Go, " Russ Cox discusses the history and development of the Go programming language. He highlights the collaboration of key individuals in building compilers and a standard library, leading to the release of Go 1, which marked a shift towards stability and use in production environments. Cox expresses his desire to work with the Go community to plan and implement the future of Go, particularly in terms of scalability. The challenges of transitioning from Go One to Go Two are discussed, emphasizing the need for compatibility and careful planning. Cox explains that the development process of Go has evolved from informal to formal, involving problem identification, proposing solutions, implementation, and evaluation. He emphasizes the importance of describing the significance of a problem to gain support for solving it, as failure to consider the significance of a problem can lead to the failure of even simple procedures. Cox also discusses the importance of experience reports in understanding and addressing problems in the Go programming language. He argues that problems in Go are best solved through library and tooling changes rather than language changes. The plan to ship backwards compatible parts of Go incrementally as part of the Go one release ensures timely bug fixes and improvements, avoids splitting development effort, and eases migration. Cox speculates that minor changes may start appearing in about a year, followed by package management support and eventually the transition to Go 2. 0. Overall, the podcast episode provides insights into the history, development, and future plans for the Go programming language. Cox's discussion highlights the importance of collaboration, problem-solving, and community involvement in shaping the future of Go.

    • talk/russ2018a Dependencies and the future of Go. Apr 19, 2018.
    • talk/russ2018b Go and WebAssembly (Wasm). Apr 19, 2018
    • talk/russ2018c
      Opening keynote: Go with Versions. GopherConSG 2018. May 5, 2018

      Summary:In the opening keynote of GopherConSG 2018, Russ Cox discusses the need for package versioning in the Go programming language. He emphasizes the challenges faced by developers due to incompatible versions and broken builds. Currently, Go lacks awareness of package versions, making it difficult to create version-aware tools. Cox proposes adding package versions directly to Go through a new import path syntax and version selection algorithm. He highlights the principles of compatibility, repeatability, and cooperation in software engineering. Compatibility ensures that the meaning of a name in a program remains consistent over time, simplifying development and maintenance. However, semantic versioning, which encourages incompatibility between software versions, is seen as a drawback. To address compatibility issues, Cox suggests using semantic import versioning, where different major versions use different import paths. Import paths in Go simplify software engineering by eliminating ambiguity. Upgrading to different versions of a module may require changing import paths, but tools like global search and replace and go fix can make this process easier. Import paths allow for gradual updates and clear identification of converted code, while semantic versioning helps avoid conflicts and diamond dependency problems. The text also explores the concepts of import versioning and repeatability in software development. It discusses the challenges faced by different versioning systems and the importance of considering these principles in software engineering. Repeatability is crucial in dependency management systems to ensure bug fixes and security updates during deployment. The balance between the latest dependencies and repeatability in library builds is emphasized. Cooperation is highlighted as essential in the NGO open-source ecosystem. Collaboration between authors is necessary to address compatibility issues and release fixes and updates. Without cooperation, the ecosystem is at risk of failure. In conclusion, Cox emphasizes the importance of versioning in the Go toolchain and ecosystem. He encourages developers to try out the new version support in Go 1. 11 and provide feedback. By implementing package versioning, Go can address compatibility issues, ensure repeatability in builds, and foster a healthy and thriving open-source ecosystem.

    • talk/russ2018d
      Go 2 Drafts Announcement. Aug 28, 2018.

      Summary:In this video episode title the Go team provides an update on the progress they have made in addressing the top three requests from the Go user survey. These requests include better package management, error handling, and generics. The team introduces Go modules, which have been introduced in Go 1. 11, as a solution to improve package management and enable flexible code organization. They acknowledge that it will take time for the ecosystem to adjust to modules, but they believe that it will benefit the community in the long run. The team also discusses the need for further discussion on error handling and proposes a solution to improve it. They suggest the addition of a 'check' expression and a 'handle' statement to enhance error handling in Go. Additionally, the team explores the concept of using generics for more flexible and reusable code. They discuss the idea of making the channel element type a parameter that can vary in code, and the challenges that come with specifying which types can stand in for the parameter. The team also introduces the concept of contracts, which define the operations that types must support. They provide an example of a contract named 'Equal' for comparing values of type T for equality. The team encourages Go users to provide feedback on the ongoing development of Go 2 and invites them to help improve the draft designs for error handling, error values, and generics. They provide a link for more information on how to do this.

    • talk/russ2019
      On the Path to Go 2. GopherCon 2019. Aug 27, 2019.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2019 podcast episode titled "On the Path to Go 2, " Russ Cox discusses the evolution of Go programming and the future direction of the language. The episode begins by emphasizing the importance of simplifying the process of writing Go programs. Cox explains that this can be achieved through reshaping, redefining, removing, and restricting certain aspects of the language. One area of improvement highlighted in the episode is error handling. Cox provides a historical overview of the evolution of error handling in Go, emphasizing the power and flexibility of Go errors. He introduces the convention of using an unwrap method to simplify error handling by removing unnecessary context. Additionally, he mentions the introduction of helper functions like errors. Is and errors. As to handle specific error types. The episode also touches on the design of error syntax and generics in Go. Cox explains the initial design challenges faced in error handling and the decision to focus on other aspects of the language. However, he mentions a new design based on the idea of a contract that was presented last year. Another topic discussed in the episode is the transition from Go Path to Go Modules in the Vigo design. This shift brings an end to the global namespace of Go Path and introduces the challenge of reproducible builds. Cox mentions the importance of using the replacement package 'golang. org/X/tools/go/packages' for faster functionality in development tools. The episode concludes by discussing the evolution of package management in Go and the introduction of vendor directories. Cox highlights the goals and issues of dependency management tools, leading to the development of Vigo. He mentions that the Go team at Google has launched a public mirror of all open-source Go packages and that Go modules are now at a point where they can serve most users. Overall, the episode emphasizes the value of experimentation and learning in the process of simplifying Go development. Cox expresses gratitude towards the Go community and mentions that the Go project is shifting its focus to providing complete IDE service support, with the development of Go Please, a tool that unifies development helpers.

    • talk/russ2020a go:build design draft. Jun 30, 2020.
    • talk/russ2020b io/fs draft design. Jul 21, 2020.
    • talk/russ2020c //go:embed draft design. Jul 21, 2020.
    • talk/russ2021 #PLTalk: 12 Years of Go with Russ Cox. Nov. 12, 2021.
    • talk/russ2022
      Compatibility: How Go Programs Keep Working. GopherCon 2022. Oct 28, 2022.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2022: Russ Cox - Compatibility: How Go Programs Keep Working, " Russ Cox discusses the significance of compatibility in Go programming and the strategies employed by the Go team to ensure stability and predictability in new releases. Cox begins by explaining the Go1 compatibility promise, which guarantees that new APIs can be added without breaking existing code. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining API compatibility and discusses the tools and testing approaches used to check for compatibility issues. The episode highlights two subtle problems encountered during the preparation of the Go 1.1 release, shedding light on the challenges of maintaining compatibility, including output changes, input changes, and protocol changes. Cox also delves into the changes and compatibility in Go 1. 6, including the ability to opt out of changes and the removal of support for sha-1 certificates. The discussion further explores backward, forward, and language compatibility, as well as the challenges associated with output and input changes. Examples are provided to illustrate output change incompatibilities and the issues caused by input changes. Cox emphasizes the importance of writing code and tests that can accept any valid behavior. He also discusses input change incompatibilities and protocol changes, using examples of code breaking due to data format and communication issues between HTTP versions. The episode also touches on the Goatee bug settings and compatibility in Go programming, highlighting the guarantee that compatible changes that break existing programs will last for at least two years. The Go command is considering improvements to handle version mismatches more effectively. Lastly, the episode discusses how Go modules can be utilized to remove or fix problematic features in the Go language. A bug in the code is identified, and potential fixes are suggested. Overall, the episode emphasizes the importance of prioritizing compatibility in the development of Go 1. x and maintaining stability and predictability for developers.

    • talk/russ2023a Go Changes. GopherCon 2023. Sep 27, 2023.
    • talk/russ2023b Go Testing By Example. GopherCon Australia 2023. Nov 9, 2023.
    • talk/russ2023c Open Source Supply Chain Security at Google. ACM SCORED. Nov 30, 2023. Back To Top

Compiler/Runtime Team

Dmitry is not from the Go team but on the dynamic testing tools team from Google. He wrote the scalable goroutine scheduler, many other performance improvements, synchronization primitives, race detector, and blocking profiler that related to the Go runtime. Austin was an intern at Google who worked on the Go project in the early days while pursuing a Ph. D. Later, he joined the Go team after his academic career and work together with Rick for the Go's concurrent GC. He also worked on the current preemptive scheduler and linker. Now, he is leading the Compiler/Runtime team for Go. Keith and David together focus on the Go's compiler backend, notably the current SSA backend. Michael is a recent newcomer to the Go team, his work is mainly in the runtime memory system such as the refactoring of memory allocator and runtime metrics.

  • Dmitry Vyukov. (Дмитрий Вьюков, M. Sc.) Website, GitHub, Twitter
    • Alma mater: Bauman Moscow State Technical University
    • talk/dmitry2014 Writing a functional, reliable and fast web application in Go. Sep 25, 2014.
    • talk/dmitry2015a
      Chat with Dmitry Vyukov on go-fuzz, golang and IT security. Jul 3, 2015

      Summary:In this video episode titled "Chat with Dmitry Vyukov on go-fuzz, golang and IT security, " Dmitry Vyukov, a software engineer at Google, discusses his tool called go-fuzz, which is used for discovering software defects. The conversation takes place between Dmitry and a group of gophers, including Nicolas Grilly, Fred Ménez, and Alex Plugaru. The episode begins with the group expressing their gratitude to Dmitry for accepting their invitation to chat about go-fuzz. They mention that the video of their conversation will be shown during an upcoming meetup event focused on golang and IT security. Dmitry then goes on to explain the concept of go-fuzz and its significance in automated testing for information security. He also talks about his work on dynamic testing tools for C, C++, and Go languages. The group expresses their interest in learning more about go-fuzz and related topics. The conversation then shifts to the activities of two companies, Century and Trust, and plans for an upcoming meetup on information security. Dmitry introduces GoFast, a filing system created for the Go programming language, and hints at a small presentation to be shown. The group discusses the challenges of generating meaningful inputs for randomized testing, which is a cost-effective and unbiased method for checking software for crashes and issues. Dmitry explains the coverage technique, which uses a genetic algorithm to identify bugs and corner cases by generating diverse inputs. He also mentions the Sonar technique, which involves adding instrumentation to a program to identify and replace bugs. The conversation then delves into the use of Hinkle versa fire and summer technologies in generating and testing inputs for XML parsing. Dmitry explains the XML parsing process in the Go Fast programming language and describes the overall structure of Go Fast. The episode concludes with a discussion on problems with various packages in the Go programming language and the importance of thorough testing. Dmitry emphasizes the need for caution when using these packages and suggests using coverage-guided systems for detecting bugs in Go programs. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the world of software testing, information security, and the use of go-fuzz as a tool for discovering software defects.

    • talk/dmitry2015b
      Go Dynamic Tools. GopherCon 2015. Jul 28, 2015.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2015: Dmitry Vyukov - Go Dynamic Tools, " Dmitry Vyukov discusses the importance of dynamic tools in Go programming. He emphasizes that these tools can provide significant value with a small time investment, but are often underappreciated by developers. Vyukov introduces three dynamic tools for Go: the data race detector, fuzzing system, and execution tracer. The data race detector is crucial for identifying and fixing data races in concurrent code, which can compromise program correctness, stability, and security. Go provides a built-in data race detector that easily identifies and resolves data races through compiler instrumentation and a runtime module. The fuzzing system is a bug-finding tool that uses techniques such as concurrent testing, randomized testing, and coverage-guided fuzzing. It helps identify potential bugs by generating random data and mutating inputs to trigger the execution of previously unexecuted lines of code. Vyukov explains how incremental input mutation is used in security testing for C and C++ programs, as well as in image verification and XML input using the Versa Fire protocol. The execution tracer provides insights into performance and latency issues in Go programs. It helps developers understand and optimize the execution flow of their code. Vyukov also shares his experiences of systematically applying these dynamic tools at scale. He highlights the importance of testing and bug discovery in Go packages, providing examples of bugs found in the Go fund package. He recommends using the "go fast" tool for testing and thoroughly testing packages for reliability. Overall, this video episode emphasizes the value of dynamic tools in Go programming and encourages developers to utilize them for bug finding, performance optimization, and overall program reliability.

    • talk/dmitry2016 Dmitry Vyukov Interview. Jun 1, 2016.
    • talk/dmitry2017 Fuzzing: The New Unit Testing. C++ Russia 2017. May 10, 2017.
    • talk/dmitry2018a Fuzzing: new unit testing. GopherCon Russia. Apr 2, 2018.
    • talk/dmitry2018b
      Syzbot and the Tale of Thousand Kernel Bugs. Sep 1, 2018.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Syzbot and the Tale of Thousand Kernel Bugs, " Dmitry Vyukov from Google discusses the current state of Linux kernel bugs and their security implications. Over the past three years, Vyukov and his team have been testing the kernel and have encountered numerous bugs that pose a threat to system security. Vyukov emphasizes that while hardening, mitigations, and containers are important, they cannot fully protect a system with thousands of bugs. Therefore, it is crucial to address these bugs to ensure the stability and safety of the Linux kernel. To help identify and fix these bugs, Vyukov and his team have developed a set of bug finding tools. These tools include syzbot, syzkaller, KASAN, KMSAN, and KTSAN. These tools aid in detecting and addressing vulnerabilities in the kernel, improving its overall security. However, Vyukov acknowledges that there are still challenges that need to be addressed. One of the main challenges is the overwhelming number of bugs that need to be dealt with. Additionally, there are difficulties in managing and maintaining stable releases, as well as limitations in the existing bug tracking system. Vyukov calls for community help to improve the situation. He emphasizes the importance of better testing processes and the incorporation of various types of tests and bug tracking tools. Communication and reporting are also crucial in software development, and Vyukov suggests using a specific email address for proposals. In conclusion, Vyukov's presentation sheds light on the significant issue of kernel bugs and their impact on system security. He highlights the need for continuous efforts to address these bugs and improve the stability and safety of the Linux kernel. With the development of bug finding tools and community support, it is possible to make significant progress in resolving these vulnerabilities and ensuring the reliability of the kernel.

    • talk/dmitry2019
      Go scheduler: Implementing language with lightweight concurrency. Oct 14, 2019.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Dmitry Vyukov — Go scheduler: Implementing language with lightweight concurrency, " Dmitry Vyukov delves into the inner workings of the Go scheduler and sheds light on how it implements the seemingly magical features of goroutines and channels. Vyukov starts by providing an overview of the main components of the scheduler and its overall operation. He explains that goroutines, which are lightweight threads, and channels, which are FIFO queues, are the building blocks of concurrency in Go. However, he emphasizes that there is no magic involved in their implementation. The discussion then delves into specific aspects of the scheduler, such as handling blocking system calls and addressing the problem of deadlock in goroutines. Vyukov proposes solutions to improve parallelism and scalability, including entering the kernel and waking another thread to resolve deadlocks. Scalability is another challenge addressed in the episode, with the suggestion of allowing multiple goroutines to use the same scheduler state simultaneously. Vyukov also explores the challenges of contention and context loss at both hardware and software levels, proposing solutions like reducing contention and frequent locking. The importance of fairness in goroutine scheduling is emphasized, as lack of fairness can have negative consequences. Vyukov explains how fairness is achieved through preemption, time slices, and run queues. He also discusses the issue of starvation in goroutines and suggests using time slice inheritance to address it. The episode touches on various optimization techniques, including the use of processors to improve work stealing, load balancing, and memory allocation. Vyukov highlights the trade-off between fairness and performance and the need for efficient resource utilization. The implementation of stack and memory allocation is explained, with a focus on preventing stack overflow and managing a large number of goroutines. Vyukov discusses the challenges faced by 32-bit systems and proposes solutions like split stacks. The episode also covers the performance differences between split stack and global stack implementations, with the latter offering better performance and stability. In conclusion, Vyukov emphasizes the importance of scheduler design, stack management, and preemption in the Go language. He discusses various approaches to optimizing code execution and improving processor scheduling efficiency and scalability. The episode also addresses the importance of preemption for garbage collection and system performance.

    • talk/dmitry2020
      syzkaller: Adventures in Continuous Coverage-guided Kernel Fuzzing. BlueHat IL 2020. Feb 13, 2020.

      Summary:In the podcast episode titled "BlueHat IL 2020 - Dmitry Vyukov - syzkaller: Adventures in Continuous Coverage-guided Kernel Fuzzing, " Dmitry Vyukov discusses the syzkaller project, an open-source, coverage-guided, structure-aware kernel fuzzer. He begins by explaining the history and motivation behind the project, highlighting the challenges of kernel fuzzing compared to user-space fuzzing, such as coverage flakiness, test isolation, and the enormous input space. Vyukov then delves into the main design decisions that have enabled the syzkaller project to overcome these challenges. He discusses the use of an interface description language, the syzkaller program notation and interpretation, and the implementation of code coverage support. These design decisions have proven to be effective in uncovering thousands of bugs in various operating systems. The podcast episode also touches on the importance of good tests for dynamic tools and introduces the concept of innocent fuzzing as a technique to detect more bugs in the kernel. Traditional fuzzing techniques are limited, and Vyukov introduces code coverage-guided fuzzing as a more effective approach. Furthermore, the episode explores the concept of system calls and blocking in programming, emphasizing the importance of prioritization and dispatching of system calls to handle blocking situations. The discussion also includes insights into managing system calls and handling blocking scenarios. Vyukov also discusses the implementation of Sis Bot, a system that automates and provides higher-level automation on top of the syzkaller project. Sis Bot offers continuous kernel and caller builds, providing updates and automation to improve efficiency. The system has reported about 2, 900 bugs in the upstream Linux kernel, with 2, 000 fixed and 800 unresolved. Overall, this podcast episode provides a comprehensive overview of the syzkaller project and its impact on continuous coverage-guided kernel fuzzing. Vyukov's insights and experiences shed light on the challenges and successes of kernel fuzzing and highlight the importance of dynamic tools and testing in the development of secure and reliable operating systems.

  • Austin Clements. (Dr. Austin T. Clements) GitHub, Scholar
    • Alma mater: MIT
    • paper/autin2014 The Scalable Commutativity Rule: Designing Scalable Software for Multicore Processors. Doctor Dissertation. May 21, 2014.
    • talk/austin2020 Pardon the Interruption: Loop Preemption in Go 1.14. Nov 12, 2020.
  • Richard Hudson. (Richard L. Hudson, M. Sc.) GitHub (Retired)
    • Alma mater: University of Massachusetts Amherst
    • paper/rick Research List
    • talk/rick2015a
      Go GC: Solving the Latency Problem. GopherCon 2015. Jul 8, 2015.

      Summary:In the video titled "GopherCon 2015: Rick Hudson - Go GC: Solving the Latency Problem, " Rick Hudson discusses the issue of long garbage collection (GC) pauses in the Go programming language. These pauses have been a major obstacle to the adoption of Go, as they hinder its promise of providing a better environment for developers. Hudson presents the new 1.5 low latency concurrent GC as a solution to this problem. Hudson begins by explaining that long GC pauses are a significant concern for developers, as they prevent the smooth execution of Go programs. He emphasizes that if Go is to fulfill its potential, it must eliminate these pauses. The new low latency concurrent GC in version 1. 5 of Go aims to address this issue. Throughout the episode, Hudson provides motivations for the new GC approach and presents performance numbers to support its effectiveness. He also delves into the technical challenges involved in implementing this solution. Hudson highlights the compatibility of this approach with the Go programming language and its ability to provide a better experience for developers. The episode also touches on the importance of balancing hardware and software development, particularly in utilizing more cores in hardware. Hudson mentions the significance of the Go programming language in this context and its ability to handle multiple goroutines on multiple cores. Overall, the podcast episode focuses on the efforts to solve the latency problem in Go's garbage collection. Hudson's presentation of the new low latency concurrent GC in version 1. 5 of Go showcases the progress being made in improving the performance and usability of the language.

    • talk/rick2015b Rick Hudson on Garbage Collection in Go. Dec 21, 2015.
  • Keith Randall. (Dr. Keith H. Randall.) GitHub
    • Alma mater: MIT
    • paper/1998keith Cilk: Efficient Multithreaded Computing. Doctor Dissertation. May 21, 1998.
    • talk/keith2016
      Inside the Map Implementation. GopherCon 2016. Jul 12, 2016.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2016 video titled "Inside the Map Implementation, " Keith Randall discusses the implementation of maps in the Go programming language. He explains how maps are used to map keys to values and covers basic operations. Randall also mentions the suitability of maps for high-frequency trading and discusses their implementation in a trading bot for profit in finance. The episode delves into the problem of searching for specific stock symbols in large datasets and suggests splitting the data into subsets for improved efficiency. However, there are limitations with the splitting function, particularly when dealing with symbols that are not character codes. Randall goes on to explain hash functions and buckets in computing and their use in computing hash values for different data types in maps. He describes the structure of a bucket and the possibility of overflow. The layout of maps in memory is also discussed, including meta information and the array of buckets. The importance of deterministic and efficient hash functions in computer science, especially for web servers, is highlighted. The Go programming language provides a built-in solution for computing hash functions. The challenges of implementing generic data structures in Go are explored, and a workaround using unsafe pointers and type descriptors is proposed. The process of growing a map by increasing its size and improving its efficiency is explained, along with the implementation of insert and delete functions. The episode compares Go maps to maps in other programming languages, emphasizing the inability to take the address of a value slot in most languages. The limitations and advantages of modifying maps during iteration in Go are discussed, as well as the constraints on data layout. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the map implementation in Go, covering various topics such as hash functions, buckets, memory layout, and performance considerations.

    • talk/keith2017
      Generating Better Machine Code with SSA. GopherCon 2017. Jul 24, 2017.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2017 video episode titled "Generating Better Machine Code with SSA, " Keith Randall discusses the efforts made over the past two years to improve the machine-code generator for Go. The focus of the discussion is on the use of Static Single Assignment (SSA) representation and how it enables various optimizations. The episode begins by highlighting the frustration with the quality of code generated by the Go 1. 5 compiler and the need for better optimization techniques. The author proposes converting the code to an SSA-based representation for easier implementation of optimizations. The compiler rewrite project for Go has resulted in significant improvements in performance, with code segments being 13% smaller and some benchmarks showing a 25-30% improvement. The use of intermediate representations (IR) in the Go compiler is then explained, specifically syntax trees. The Go 1.5 compiler uses syntax trees for operations like type checking and optimizations. The Go 1.7 compiler introduces SSA to improve code generation and escape analysis. The concept of SSA is further explored, including the need for variable renaming and dealing with branches. The Phi function in SSA form is introduced, along with the concept of a control flow graph for better understanding of code flow. The advantages of using SSA in code optimization are highlighted, such as common sub-expression elimination and dead store elimination. SSA representation enables various optimizations, such as register allocation and instruction ordering, leading to improved code efficiency and execution. The text also discusses the removal of unnecessary balance checks in code optimization and the use of rewrite rules to replace operations with more efficient alternatives. The video concludes by emphasizing the need for effective benchmarks to assess the impact of compiler optimizations and invites individuals with benchmark ideas to contact the author. The switch to SSA in the compiler has resulted in significant improvements in code generation, and the team is working on optimizing passes and exploring additional optimizations. Overall, the video provides a comprehensive overview of the efforts made to generate better machine code with SSA in the Go compiler, highlighting the benefits and challenges of this approach.

  • David Chase. (Dr. David Chase) Website, Block, GitHub, Twitter, Scholar
    • Alma mater: Rice University
    • paper/1987david Garbage Collection and Other Optimizations. Doctor Dissertation. Aug 1987.
    • talk/david2017 All About The Go Compiler. Jul 20, 2017.
  • Dan Scales.
  • Michael Knyszek. Website, GitHub
    • talk/michael2020 Evolving the Go Memory Manager's RAM and CPU Efficiency. Nov 11, 2020
  • Than McIntosh. GitHub
  • Cherry Zhang. GitHub

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Library/Tools/Release/Security/Community

  • Andrew Gerrand. GitHub, Twitter

  • Brad Fitzpatrick. Website, GitHub, Twitter

    • talk/brad2010
      Writing zippy Android apps. Google I/O 2010. May 27, 2010.

      Summary:In the Google I/O 2010 video episode titled "Writing zippy Android apps, " Brad Fitzpatrick discusses the importance of creating fast and responsive Android applications. He shares tips and war stories on how to eliminate ANRs (Application Not Responding) and event loop stalls, and how to achieve fast start-ups and optimized database queries with minimal I/O. Fitzpatrick emphasizes the significance of minimizing work and performing tasks in the background to avoid stalling the main thread. He discusses the impact of switching between processes on the Nexus One device and highlights the importance of managing input/output operations and avoiding excessive I/O. He also explains the differences between hard drives and flash memory in terms of reading, writing, and erasing data. The video episode delves into the performance variations in SQLite and provides tips for optimizing performance. Fitzpatrick advises against writing in the UI thread and stresses the importance of understanding SQLite's functionality. He introduces a custom app developed for the talk and provides a link to the code. The episode also discusses the process of creating and analyzing a database using SQLite. The text further explores various concepts and techniques related to background tasks in Android development. It discusses the use of services, such as Intent Service, for performing tasks in the background and highlights the importance of avoiding blocking the UI thread. Fitzpatrick emphasizes the negative effects of janky animation and the importance of using asynchronous programming techniques for smooth and responsive performance. The episode also covers the concept of ANRs and suggests using tools like AsyncTask to prevent them. The video episode provides a comprehensive overview of various topics related to Android development and debugging. It discusses the use of Traceview for CPU profiling and highlights the importance of sorting by number of calls and exclusive time for identifying performance issues. It also explores logging and debugging in Android applications, including the use of content resolver and logcat buffers. Overall, the episode offers valuable insights and guidance for creating fast and responsive Android applications. It covers topics such as optimizing performance, background tasks, SQLite optimization, and debugging techniques. Fitzpatrick's expertise and experience in Android development make this episode a valuable resource for developers looking to improve the performance of their Android applications.

    • talk/brad2011
      Palestra Brad FitzPatrick. Perl Workshop. Parte 1. May 12, 2011.

      Summary:In this video of the Perl Workshop, Brad FitzPatrick delivers a presentation on the Go programming language. He starts by introducing the basics, such as the "Hello, World" program, package and import statements, function definitions, and function calls. He emphasizes the use of the package fmt and the ability to refer to capitalized (exported) names. FitzPatrick then delves into more advanced topics, including Go's support for Unicode, the ability to return multiple values, and the convenience of type inference and local declarations. He covers variables, constant declarations, control flow structures like for loops and if statements, and basic types like structs and pointers. He also discusses maps and slices, highlighting the differences between them and arrays. FitzPatrick explains the function type, the use of the for range loop, and the switch statement. He introduces the concept of defer, which allows for the execution of a function to be deferred until the surrounding function returns. In a digression, he briefly mentions the godoc tool for generating documentation for Go code. FitzPatrick concludes his presentation by discussing the use of defer in Perl and the advantages of using regular expressions and system calls in the programming language July. Overall, this video provides a comprehensive overview of the Go programming language, covering its syntax, features, and practical applications. FitzPatrick's expertise and clear explanations make it a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced programmers.

    • talk/brad2012
      Behind the Scenes at LiveJournal: Scaling Storytime. Brad Fitzpatrick. May 21, 2012.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Brad Fitzpatrick - Behind the Scenes at LiveJournal: Scaling Storytime, " Brad Fitzpatrick discusses the evolution of LiveJournal and the challenges faced in scaling the website. He highlights the development of various open-source tools such as memcache and Proval, which played a crucial role in improving performance. Initially, LiveJournal faced performance issues with a single database. To address this, they introduced MySQL replication and purchased another database. The new database was used for non-critical tasks, while the original one handled critical tasks. As the website grew, more web servers, load balancers, and proxies were added to the system's architecture. However, this led to the issue of a single point of failure and the need for scalability. To improve capacity and performance, another database was added, and partitioning was implemented. A MySQL cluster was built, and different caching methods, including memcached, were utilized. The importance of an event-based app serving system for users on slow connections was also discussed, with suggestions to use Apache for protected URLs and Mod Perl and Proval for transparent file retrieval. The video episode also delves into the advantages of using an open-source distributed file system called MogileFS. MogileFS ensures data availability and replication across multiple devices, using consumer-level disks instead of RAID. It includes clients for file operations, trackers for replication control, and databases for managing file metadata. The use of Proval and Gearman for improving file uploads and load balancing is mentioned, along with the benefits of Schwartz and Alpha Schwartz for communication and task management. Gearman allows for efficient communication between different parts of a job, while Schwartz complements Gearman and offers a reliable manager. The text also discusses the use of Schwartz for handling email and event notifications. The video episode concludes by exploring memory management and integration strategies in Jabber servers, as well as performance tuning in Mod Perl and the use of C libraries in Pearl programming. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of LiveJournal, the challenges faced in scaling the website, and the various open-source tools and techniques used to address these challenges.

    • talk/brad2013a
      Software I'm excited about. dotScale 2013. Jul 30, 2013.

      Summary:In this episode of dotScale 2013, Brad Fitzpatrick, a Googler working on the Go language, discusses the software that he is excited about. He starts by reflecting on his initial dislike for software, but his perspective changes after playing the three things game. He realizes that he only notices bad software because good software is taken for granted. Brad then talks about his recent trip where he discovered exciting software towards the end. He also reflects on his desire to start a new startup and mentions the secrets he observed at Google, including the need for fast, cheap, and reliable virtual machines (VMs), a good machine cluster management system, a good programming language, and a reliable lock server. He expresses his excitement about advancements in the VM space and the competition and decreasing prices in the market. Brad also discusses the need for improved machine or cluster management systems and expresses frustration with programming languages like Java, Objective C, Python, Ruby, and PHP. He highlights the advantages of using the Go programming language, including its low-level control and memory management capabilities, as well as its high-level features such as closures and callbacks. Go is a compiled language that combines the speed of a scripting language with the efficiency of a compiled language. It is easy to use and deploy, eliminating the need for complex setup or dependencies. Brad also discusses the potential uses of Bitcoin and its disruptive potential in the payment space. He mentions the problems faced with a terrible system that lacked trust and guarantees, emphasizing the need for a reliable lock server. He also mentions the development and adoption of consensus protocols in distributed systems, including Paxos and the emergence of a new protocol called Raft. Overall, Brad's talk provides insights into the software he is excited about and the advancements in the VM, programming language, and payment space.

    • talk/brad2013b
      LiveJournal's Moscow office. Brad Fitzpatrick. Dec 15, 2013.

      Summary:In this episode of the podcast, titled "Brad Fitzpatrick in LiveJournal's Moscow office, " the speaker discusses various topics related to technology and its impact on our lives. The episode begins with the author sharing their experience with Android smartphones and their attempt to create an app to open their garage door. They also talk about using a video camera and projector for shadow art. The speaker then raises concerns about government surveillance scandals and the loss of trust in technology companies like Google. They consider running their own mail server for secure email and suggest using a small computer and VPN. The speaker predicts that more companies will offer similar solutions in the future. The episode also delves into the funding journey of LiveJournal, from initial investment to increasing expenses. The author reflects on the potential benefits of platforms like Kickstarter and describes managing a growing number of servers. They eventually decide to leave due to the overwhelming workload and frustration of dealing with non-technical problems. The speaker also shares their experience with drugs and confusion about Contact Bible. They discuss the importance of keeping web development open and user-friendly, with features such as pro encryption and open APIs. The potential introduction of ads on LiveJournal and the impact of changing the value of tokens are also discussed. The episode explores the negative effects of excessive social media use and suggests disconnecting from social networks to improve productivity. The author shares their frustration about not having internet access while traveling and discusses the benefits of being able to work on a flight with internet. Overall, the episode highlights the ever-changing nature of technology and its role in our daily lives. It touches on various topics such as authentication systems, internet-only devices like Chromebooks, and the potential of wearable technology like Google Glass. The speaker reflects on the constant presence of smartphones and the potential social implications.

    • talk/brad2014a
      Camlistore. Go meetup. Jan 2014.

      Summary:In the Go meetup held in January 2014, Brad Fitzpatrick, a member of the Go team at Google, discussed his side project called Camera Store. He expressed concerns about the longevity and trustworthiness of tech companies like Instagram and Twitter, and the need for a reliable method of storing personal data for future generations. Fitzpatrick introduced the concept of Camly Store, a new perspective on cloud storage and organization. The text explored the advantages of content addressability in data storage and syncing. It explained how content addressability eliminates the need for versions and conflicts, making syncing easier. The use of operational transforms and three-way merges for conflict resolution was also discussed. The text highlighted the use of sha-1 or sha-256 for data integrity verification and the ability to copy data from replicas in case of disk corruption. The structure of the Cambly stores directory tree and the role of applications like cam get and cam put in giving semantic meaning to files and metadata were explained. The limitations of file systems and the use of JSON for modeling content were also discussed. The features of a dynamic web UI for managing photos were explored, including the ability to view and organize photos by format, location, and date. The option to auto-upload photos and the creation of permanent nodes for uploaded photos were highlighted. The concept of permanodes, which are randomly generated numbers signed by the user, providing stable references to objects that can still be modified, was also mentioned. The text discussed two abstractions used in Blob Server Storage and Sorted Key Value, explaining their functionalities and implementations. It also provided an explanation of how sets are created and modified in Cam Tool, as well as the process of creating a web demo. The challenges faced in implementing Git in a camera store were discussed, with plans to fix the issue soon. The future of web storage was explored, emphasizing the importance of trusting reliable storage providers like Dropbox and Amazon or Google. The possibility of creating web services entirely in JavaScript and running them locally was mentioned. Overall, the video episode highlighted the need for individuals to have control over their own data and explored various techniques and technologies for achieving this.

    • talk/brad2014b
      Camlistore & The Standard Library. GopherCon 2014. May 18, 2014.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2014 Camlistore & The Standard Library, " Brad Fitzpatrick discusses his experience working on the Camlistore project and its relationship with the Go standard library. Camlistore is a personal storage system that has been developed alongside the Go standard library since June 2010. Fitzpatrick highlights the evolution of both Camlistore and the Go standard library, from before r56 to the stable release of Go 1 in March 2012, as well as subsequent updates. Fitzpatrick shares his motivations for choosing Go as the programming language for Camlistore, citing its speed and the frustrations he experienced with other languages like Perl, Python, Ruby, and JavaScript. He discusses the challenges he faced while programming in Go, including the syntax and build systems, but ultimately found success in using the language. Throughout the episode, Fitzpatrick reflects on his experiences working with various components and functions in Go, such as closures, HTTP, and database support. He also discusses his contributions to the Go programming language, including his involvement in owning the HDTV client and server, as well as his work on HTTP CGI support and testing. Fitzpatrick discusses the challenges he encountered while implementing Camlistore, such as improving error handling, encoding and decoding speed, and serving blobs directly. He also mentions his fight with the Go team and his efforts to create clean SQL for Camlistore. The episode also touches on Fitzpatrick's experiences with GPG in Go and his use of open PGP for signing Kamilly Store mutations. He discusses the evolution of open PGP implementation in Go, including its inclusion in the standard library and subsequent move to the go crypto sub repo. Overall, the episode provides insights into the development of Camlistore and its relationship with the Go standard library. Fitzpatrick shares his experiences, challenges, and contributions, offering a unique perspective on the evolution of Go and its various components and functions.

    • talk/brad2014c
      The State of the Gopher. dotGo 2014. October 10, 2014.

      Summary:In this video of dotGo 2014, Brad Fitzpatrick, a member of the Go team and the creator of memcached, OpenID, and LiveJournal, discusses the current state of the Go programming language. He begins by providing an overview of Go, including its origins and key features such as simplicity, speed, safety, and concurrency. He also highlights the evolution of Go, including the introduction of GoFix and Go 1. 0, and the implementation of monthly releases to minimize breaking changes. Fitzpatrick then discusses the evolution of garbage collection in Go, including improvements in performance and efficiency. He mentions the switch to a six-month release cycle and new features in Go 1. 2 and 1. 3, such as setting the capacity of a slice and improved stack precision. These changes have resulted in lightweight stacks for goroutines and improved performance in operations like JSON decoding. The growing popularity of Go in cloud infrastructure and development is also discussed, with mentions of its use by CIS admins and DevOps professionals for system-related tasks. Fitzpatrick highlights various applications of Go within Google, upcoming Go conferences, and the use of Core OS and Docker in Go development. The episode also covers the various tools and packages developed for Go, the improvements in Go 1. 3, and Fitzpatrick's experience of porting a Google download server from C++ to Go. He mentions the updates and improvements in the Go programming language, including the integration of an Oracle interpreter for code questions, precise garbage collection in Go 1. 4, and concurrent garbage collection in Go 1. 5. There are also plans for iOS support and improvements in compilers and libraries. Fitzpatrick concludes by discussing the current state of Go compilers and the impressive advancements being made in making the language cleaner, faster, and more versatile.

    • talk/brad2014d
      Interview. dotGo 2014. Nov 6, 2014.

      Summary:In this video of dotGo 2014, Andrew Gerrand interviews Brad Fitzpatrick, both members of the Go team at Google. They discuss Brad's use of Go routines to improve syncing Android source code, which initially caused computer crashes. Seeking help, they eventually made it work and found Go's profiling capabilities impressive. They also talk about the early adoption of Go and its inclusion of paper off stuff. They mention a bug in the buffer sharing system of the i/o util package, which caused issues with the race detector and resulted in incorrect sha hashes. After finding and fixing the bug, new tests have been implemented to address the issue. This bug serves as an example to emphasize the importance of identifying and fixing such issues. Reflecting on their early coding experiences, they recall the challenges they faced with understanding variables. They mention a particularly inefficient piece of code they wrote, highlighting the importance of avoiding redundancy in coding. However, they eventually improved their skills and replaced the code with a more efficient solution. Overall, this episode provides insights into the use of Go routines, the early adoption of Go, bug fixing, and the importance of efficient coding practices.

    • talk/brad2015a
      Hacking with Andrew and Brad: an HTTP/2 client. Feb 25, 2015.

      Summary:In this episode of "Hacking with Andrew and Brad, " Andrew Gerrand and Brad Fitzpatrick dive into the process of creating an HTTP/2 client in Go. They start by discussing the need for a fallback transport for non-HTTPS requests and the steps involved in opening a TLS connection. They emphasize the importance of specifying the host in HTTP requests and configuring TLS with the correct hostname. The hosts also explore troubleshooting steps for resolving TLS handshake errors in Tcon. They suggest moving the TLS config up and setting it directly, as well as verifying hostnames and checking the certificate chain. They also mention the use of Viper mode or Evil mode in Emacs for VI key bindings. Andrew and Brad discuss examining connection info and crypto on the Tcon, as well as testing and verifying negotiated protocols. They highlight the challenges of handling fallback connections and suggest falling back to HTTP without establishing new connections. Moving on to the server side, the hosts explain the process of negotiating settings between two sides in code. They mention the use of framer and buffer connection, sending empty settings frames, and tracking errors. They also discuss reading and printing frames, enumerating settings, and the use of settings frames in HTTP/2. The flow of exchanging headers in HTTP/2 is also explored, including the use of magic headers and continuations. The hosts explain the encoding of headers, setting flags for end headers and end stream, and the concept of HPAC encoding. They emphasize the importance of using methods and headers in code for better structure. Andrew and Brad discuss the creation of a sticky error writer in Go programming language and improvements to the Buffer Writer function. They mention syntax highlighting, fixing errors, and the possibility of implementing error handling. The hosts delve into the creation of header fields for sending data, including the purpose of sensitive fields and mitigation for attacks like the creamy beast attack. They also discuss the importance of certain magic header fields and the process of creating header fields for specific data. Troubleshooting and debugging HTTP header errors are also covered, with an emphasis on error checking during the flushing process. The hosts discuss reading frames, receiving headers from Google, and the significance of variable names and window updates in frame headers. They also explain the process of writing headers and frames in an HTTP/2 server, including syntax, logic, and the use of stream IDs and block fragments. Handling requests and responses in programming is highlighted, with a focus on block fragments, stream IDs, types of returns, headers, request bodies, and error handling. The hosts provide tips for optimizing the flushing process. The episode also touches on variables and header fields in coding, particularly in the context of a Go routine for reading and adjusting to incoming data. The hosts explain the implementation of a reading routine, error handling, and the process of decoding headers and building requests in the transport layer. Throughout the episode, Andrew and Brad encounter various network communication issues and discuss their problem-solving approach. They troubleshoot bad request errors, adjust headers, and test multiple times to resolve issues. In conclusion, this episode of "Hacking with Andrew and Brad" provides a comprehensive guide to creating an HTTP/2 client in Go. The hosts cover various topics, including TLS configuration, troubleshooting TLS handshake errors, negotiating settings, exchanging headers, handling connection state, and optimizing performance. Their problem-solving approach and insights into debugging network communication issues make this episode a valuable resource for developers.

    • talk/brad2015b
      HTTP/2 and Go. London Go Gathering 2015. Mar 4, 2015.

      Summary:In this episode of the London Go Gathering 2015, Brad Fitzpatrick discusses his implementation of an HTTP/2 server in Go. The video covers a range of topics related to the evolution of HTTP, starting from the limitations of the Gopher protocol to the development of HTTP/2. Fitzpatrick begins by highlighting the improvements introduced in each version of HTTP, such as the addition of verbs and the concept of keep-alive connections. He also addresses the challenges faced by HTTP, including the need for encryption and trust to negotiate advanced features. The impact of browser connections on performance is explored, with a mention of Google's experimentation with different protocols. The components of an HTTP request and the use of stream IDs in HTTP/2 are explained. The efficiency of Hpack encoding and the statefulness of the connection are also discussed. The importance of proper shutdown and communication in HTTP/2 servers is emphasized, along with the use of TLS extensions for secure communication. Fitzpatrick suggests the creation of a function to handle reading frames in a Go implementation. The video then delves into the implementation of a function called "read frame" in Go, which reads the first nine bytes of a frame. It introduces a method in Go for manipulating log files, including converting binary data to strings and handling unknown frame types. The author discusses the design and semantics of a framer used to read and write frames in a server, emphasizing the importance of strictness in handling errors. Memory allocation and buffering in a framework are also explored, highlighting the need for efficient memory management. The process of upgrading to HTTP/2 is explained, including encoding and writing data, supporting different versions during testing, and using TLS listeners. The concept of go routines in Go programming language is introduced, along with the use of go routine locks to prevent crashes and deadlocks. The video concludes with a discussion on frame scheduling in web browsing and the challenges of limited connection speed on mobile devices. The author mentions the use of a server tester to test various functions and scenarios of a server, as well as the difficulties of maintaining test coverage for a constantly evolving specification. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the implementation of an HTTP/2 server in Go and the challenges and improvements in the evolution of HTTP.

    • talk/brad2015c
      HTTP/2 for Go. Go Devroom FOSDEM 2015. Mar 4, 2015.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "FOSDEM 2015 | HTTP/2 for Go with Brad Fitzpatrick, " Brad Fitzpatrick provides a comprehensive overview of HTTP/2 and discusses the design of Go's http2 package. He starts by explaining the evolution of HTTP, from the gopher protocol to the current version. He highlights the introduction of content types, headers, and keepalive in HTTP 0. 9, as well as the use of virtual hosting and load balancing. Fitzpatrick then delves into the transition to HTTP/2, a binary protocol that allows for multiple requests at a time, improving efficiency. He discusses the challenges of supporting pipelining and the limited usage of this feature. He also explains the concept of HTTP request streams, the use of compression, and the different types of HTTP frames and their functions. The video episode also addresses the process of upgrading connections in TLS, including reading frames and examining connection state. Fitzpatrick discusses the implementation of a framer for reading frame headers in Go programming, emphasizing the importance of frame headers and buffer reuse. Memory management and optimization in the HTTP framer are also discussed, with suggestions for using convenience methods and optional specifications to simplify the process. The episode explains the process of frame parsing and mentions the use of a map to store frame types. Fitzpatrick further explores the handling of connections and configurations in the Go HTTP package, including the use of go routines and channels for efficient management of large numbers of connections. He discusses the role of the logic girl routine in starting new go routines for HTTP handlers and the use of channels for pushback and flow control tokens. The episode concludes with a discussion on the importance of verifying stream IDs in the HTTP protocol and the benefits of sending multiple requests in one stream. It also touches on testing HTTP handlers and integration tests using Docker, as well as the availability of an HTTP upstream spec on GitHub. Overall, the video episode provides a comprehensive and informative overview of HTTP/2 and the design of Go's http2 package, offering valuable insights for developers and enthusiasts in the field.

    • talk/brad2015d
      The state of the Gopher. Munich Gophers. Apr 18, 2015

      Summary:In the video episode titled "The state of the Gopher - Brad Fitzpatrick - Munich Gophers, " Brad Fitzpatrick from the Go Team at Google provides an overview of the past releases of the Go programming language and discusses the upcoming Go 1. 5 release. Fitzpatrick starts by giving a brief history of Go and explains that it was created as a response to the limitations of other programming languages like C++ and Python. He highlights Go's simplicity, performance, and concurrency feature as its main strengths. Despite facing initial challenges, Go was eventually released as an open-source language in 2009. The video then delves into the improvements made in Go over the years. Changes in the terminating statement rule and the ability to use larger heaps were introduced, making Go more efficient. The transition from a conservative garbage collector to a more precise one further improved Go's performance. Go 1. 3 brought enhancements to the standard library, adding support for different operating systems and addressing stack allocation issues. The popularity of Go in low-level system development is also discussed. Platforms like Heroku and GetTools have adopted Go, and technologies like Docker, CoreOS, and Kubernetes rely on it. The increasing number of Go conferences worldwide is a testament to its growing popularity. The video mentions the transition of a Python app to Go in Core OS's dashboard, which is used to track revisions, operating systems, architectures, and build configurations. The video also covers the use of Go for mobile development on Android and iOS. Developers can write networking code or business logic in Go and embed it in mobile apps. Go 1. 4 and Go 1. 5 introduced improvements in this area, including Android support, internal packages, and a switch to Git. The upcoming release of Go 1. 5 will bring a concurrent garbage collector, better code generation, and support for ARM 64 and iOS. Other topics discussed in the video include Go compilers and tools, managing dependencies in Go projects, and the importance of code audits and trust in crypto implementations. The video concludes with a lighthearted suggestion to wrap up the conversation and have a beer. Overall, the video provides a comprehensive overview of the past releases and future directions of the Go programming language. It highlights the continuous development and growing popularity of Go in various domains, including low-level system development and mobile app development.

    • talk/brad2015e
      The Go Language. devoxx poland 2015. June, 2015

      Summary:In this video episode titled "The Go Language, " Brad Fitzpatrick, a member of the Go programming language team at Google, provides an overview of the language and its unique features. He discusses the history of Go and its increasing popularity in recent years. Fitzpatrick begins by explaining that Go was created by Google to address coding inefficiencies within the company. Since its open-source release in 2009, Go has gained significant traction and has seen contributions from developers worldwide. It is known for its simplicity, efficiency, and concurrency features, making it suitable for big systems and projects. The speaker compares Go to other programming languages like Perl, C, and Java, highlighting Go's ability to be both efficient and enjoyable to work with. He shares his experience with different languages, noting the trade-offs he faced when deciding which language to use. While Perl was expressive, it lacked speed for certain tasks. Other scripting languages like Python, Ruby, and JavaScript had similar limitations. On the other hand, languages like C and C++ offered faster performance but were less enjoyable to work with. Ultimately, Fitzpatrick emphasizes the importance of balancing human enjoyment with computer efficiency. Fitzpatrick then delves into the key features of Go, such as its absence of classes and inheritance, the use of constructors by convention, and the simplicity and immutability of certain types. He discusses Go's focus on code readability and simplicity, making it suitable for large engineering teams. The speaker also explores the usage of Go in web development, highlighting the simplicity and power of the standard library for handling HTTP requests, servers, and URL parsing. He covers topics such as visibility states, public and private functions, go routines, and troubleshooting in web development. Fitzpatrick emphasizes the importance of code formatting and imports in Go programming, mentioning tools like go imports for automatic import management. Additionally, Fitzpatrick discusses the use of go routines, channels, and select statements in Go programming for concurrency and communication. He explains the lightweight nature of go routines and their ability to communicate over channels. The speaker also explores the creation of a dummy Google search server using microservices and the use of channels to improve efficiency. Overall, this video episode provides a comprehensive overview of the Go programming language, its features, and its applications in web development. Fitzpatrick encourages listeners to explore Go programming as it has reignited his passion for programming.

    • talk/brad2015f
      Hacking with Andrew and Brad: tip.golang.org. Jan 8, 2015.

      Summary:In this episode of "Hacking with Andrew and Brad, " Andrew Gerrand and Brad Fitzpatrick collaborate to rewrite tip. golang. org, a website that provides cutting-edge documentation for the Go core. The goal of this project is to enhance the functionality and stability of the site. To achieve this, the team plans to create an open-source App Engine app using App Engine Manage VMs. They utilize Docker containers and App Engine Manage VMs to create a secure virtual machine for HTTPS Tip. Golem. org. Additionally, they implement a HTTP reverse proxy called tip go dock, which updates the live world based on changes in the upstream Git server. The process of rewriting tip. golang. org involves various steps such as code review, version switching, planning, and testing. The team emphasizes the importance of testing and sharing the package to ensure its reliability. The text delves into the implementation of a reverse proxy using Go, providing code snippets and details about mutexes and code organization. It explains the process of initializing and running a proxy in a high availability service, highlighting the use of locks and error handling. Manual scaling configuration and the need for a continuous loop are also discussed. The team discusses the importance of pulling a JSON file to check for changes in repositories and mentions the use of Garrett Metamap to fix build breakages. They emphasize the significance of the 'M' variable and the 'metamap' function in a loop, as well as the use of flags and sleep intervals. The text also covers topics such as code structure, variable declarations, error handling, and optimization in Go programming language. It suggests improvements such as separating code blocks into functions and using mutex for protection. Furthermore, the team explains the process of updating and initializing a reverse proxy in Go, including organizing code, protecting it with mutexes, and using defer statements. URL parsing and creating a single host reverse proxy are also discussed. The episode concludes with the team discussing the process of building and observing changes in GoDoc. They mention running GoDoc on a MacBook Air, making changes to the standard library, and utilizing the new get review tool. The team also mentions submitting and approving a video, checking project progress, and ensuring everything is functioning correctly. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into managing and maintaining a proxy server, as well as the process of rewriting and improving a website using Go.

    • talk/brad2015g
      Lightning Talk: HTTP/2 in Go. GopherCon 2015. Aug 19, 2015.

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2015 Lightning Talk, Brad Fitzpatrick discusses the evolution of the HTTP protocol and the introduction of HTTP 2. 0. He highlights the limitations of previous versions, such as slow speed and lack of graceful server shutdown. Fitzpatrick also emphasizes the issues with unencrypted HTTP and the need for workarounds to overcome these limitations. Fitzpatrick introduces Speedy, an alternate HTTP protocol developed by Google, which aims to improve performance and efficiency. He explains that Speedy addresses the shortcomings of previous versions by implementing features like multiplexing, header compression, and server push. These features allow for faster and more efficient communication between clients and servers. The talk also touches on the benefits of using HTTP/2 for handling small resources. Fitzpatrick compares HTTP/1. 1 and HTTP/2 in terms of connection latency and open connections, highlighting the improvements in HTTP/2. Fitzpatrick explains key concepts in HTTP/2, including headers, payloads, stream control, and flow control. He mentions the use of window updates for flow control and the ability to prioritize resources. The push promise feature is also discussed, which allows servers to send hypothetical requests and responses for better resource delivery control. Overall, the Lightning Talk provides a comprehensive overview of the history and evolution of the HTTP protocol, highlighting the improvements and benefits of HTTP 2. 0 and the Speedy protocol.

    • talk/brad2015h
      Profiling & Optimizing in Go. Aug 27, 2015.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Profiling & Optimizing in Go" by Brad Fitzpatrick, the author shares their experience working with programming languages like Perl and Go. They discuss their involvement in projects like LiveJournal and Android, highlighting their advanced Go project called Camphor. The author also mentions their work on Camlistore, a life archiving search system. The episode focuses on the impressive tools available in Go for bug fixing, program speed improvement, and resource optimization. The author introduces contention profiling and emphasizes the importance of understanding low-level internals. They provide a GitHub repository and a program called 'demo go' for further reference. The episode explains the process of testing and building in the Go programming language, specifically for web applications. It covers topics such as running tests, building binaries, and writing test files. The author provides examples and conventions for writing tests in Go, including testing HTTP handlers and requests. They also mention the presence of a data race in the code and how the race detector in Go can be used to identify and fix such issues. The episode discusses memory allocation and garbage collection in benchmarks. It suggests using CPU and memory profiling to analyze memory usage and optimize code. The author also discusses optimizing response headers in a Go HTTP server by removing unnecessary code. The episode provides an explanation of Go data structures, including strings, slices, interfaces, maps, channels, and functions. It discusses string manipulation, slicing, and truncating strings. The concept of the string header is highlighted, as well as the concept of slicing in immutable arrays and memory allocation. The episode also discusses tools and techniques for benchmarking and detecting memory leaks in Go programs. It covers built-in coverage reports, external tools like bench comp and bench stat, and the net/http/pprof package for memory leak detection. In conclusion, the episode highlights the importance of efficient memory allocation and mentions upcoming updates in Go 1. 6 and 1. 7, including improved code generation and HTTP/2 support. The author emphasizes the need to fix data races and suggests using channels and mutexes for code optimization in Go.

    • talk/brad2016a
      Introducing Go 1.6: asymptotically approaching boring. Gophercon India 2016. Mar 29, 2016.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "Gophercon India 2016 - Introducing Go 1. 6: asymptotically approaching boring" by Brad Fitzpatrick, the speaker discusses various topics related to the programming language Go. Brad Fitzpatrick, a coder from San Francisco, shares his experience working with Go for the past six years. The episode begins with Brad's recent visit to India and the release of Go 1. 6. He explains the release cycle of Go and introduces Go 1. 6, as well as future releases including Go 2. 0. The evolution of the Go programming language is discussed, highlighting new features and improvements. Brad emphasizes the simplicity, efficiency, and ability to update without breaking existing programs in Go. He discusses the language specification, standard library, runtime, and various tools available in the Go ecosystem. Tools like Go Fump, Go Imports, and Oracle (now Guru) are mentioned for code formatting, managing imports, and answering code definition questions. The speaker also discusses the evolution of Go, including improvements in performance, garbage collection, memory management, and the introduction of internal packages. The release of Go 1. 6 brings new features such as HTTP 2 enabled by default, Let's Encrypt integration, and enhancements to the template package. Go 1. 7 introduces improvements in execution speed, assembly and compiler optimizations, memory pressure reduction, and concurrent map reading and writing detection. Efforts are being made to improve the efficiency and idiomatic nature of Go code. The Go team is manually fixing generated code to make it more efficient and experimenting with memory allocation for Go routines. The author also mentions the challenges of website performance on mobile phones with high latency and the need for servers to provide content before it is requested. The episode concludes with the author's personal reflections on programming languages like Java, C++, Python, Perl, Ruby, and JavaScript. The author praises Go for its readability and lack of boilerplate code, and highlights its usefulness for teaching. The issue of data races in Java programming is criticized, and Go is praised for being more honest about its rules. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of the Go programming language, its evolution, and its advantages in terms of simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use.

    • talk/brad2016b
      Lightning Talk: My video & security system. GopherCon 2016. July, 2016.

      Summary:In this episode of GopherCon 2016, Brad Fitzpatrick delivers a lightning talk on creating a cost-effective video surveillance system using Raspberry Pi cameras. He explains the technical details of capturing, processing, uploading, and detecting motion in video footage. Fitzpatrick utilizes RTSP RTP to extract video from the cameras and send it to the internet via HTTP. To stream video without UDP, he converts the video into MPEG TS format using MPEG transport stream and ffmpeg. He also discusses using edge detection to improve video quality. Fitzpatrick demonstrates how he uses ffmpeg to decode pixels and detect motion in HTTP posts with video chunks. He shares a video of catching a break-in using ffmpeg and edge detection. He explains the process of identifying changes in frames and counting changed pixels. He also mentions the possibility of using tensor flow for object classification. The episode ends on a positive note, as Fitzpatrick mentions another incident where his surveillance system caught someone stealing mail. Overall, this lightning talk provides valuable insights into creating a cost-effective video surveillance system using Raspberry Pi cameras, with a focus on capturing, processing, and detecting motion in video footage.

    • talk/brad2016c
      Go 1.7. Seattle Go Meetup. Aug 25, 2016.

      Summary:In this episode of the Seattle Go Meetup, Brad Fitzpatrick, a member of the Go core team, discusses the new and noteworthy aspects of the Go 1.7 release. He starts by talking about the evolution of Go releases, mentioning the annoyance of releases coinciding with holidays and the shift to an eight-month release cycle. Fitzpatrick highlights the significance of Go 1. 5, a major release written in Go itself. He then moves on to discuss the recent release of Go 1.7, noting that it has no language changes. He also mentions the compatibility of Go 1.7 with the latest OS X update. The podcast also covers the improvements made in the Go compiler and linker performance. Fitzpatrick explains the introduction of a new tool chain export format and a new file format that is faster and more efficient for the compiler. He also highlights the efforts made to optimize the linker, resulting in significant performance speed-up in the Go language. The episode further delves into the challenges faced when transitioning from C to Go in large projects. Fitzpatrick explains that while Go is not slower than C, the generated code from the transformation was of poor quality, resulting in slower performance. However, the transition to Go was seen as a long-term solution that would lead to optimizations. Fitzpatrick concludes the episode by discussing the improvements made in the Go 1.12 release, including faster build times and smaller, faster binaries. He mentions the improved garbage collector and optimizations made to various packages. The episode also touches on the use of the 'context' package in the standard library for implementing timeouts, cancellation, and data transmission in Go programming language. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the new features and improvements in the Go 1.7 release, as well as the challenges and future plans for the Go language.

    • talk/brad2016d
      The Go Open Source Project's Innards. GothamGo 2016. Dec 15, 2016.

      Summary:In the video episode titled "GothamGo 2016 - The Go Open Source Project's Innards, " Brad Fitzpatrick, a member of the Go programming language team at Google, provides a comprehensive overview of the tools and processes used in the Go open source project. Fitzpatrick emphasizes the importance of understanding these tools and processes for informed decision-making. He discusses the evolution of version control systems and code review processes, highlighting the use of GitHub issues for bug reporting and tracking. Fitzpatrick also mentions the implementation of labels and short links for easy navigation. He explains the use of milestones in GitHub for managing the release cycle and emphasizes the stability of the current system. Fitzpatrick goes on to discuss the communication channels used in the Go development community, including mailing lists, Google Groups, Slack, and IRC. He mentions the frustration caused by a tool called 'come to push back' that automatically closes pull requests. The video episode also covers the testing and build system used for Golang. org, including the use of arbitrary labels for voting and the creation of a label called 'run try bot'. Fitzpatrick explains the matrix of configurations tested and the integration with Gerrit and GitHub. Other tools mentioned in the episode include Docker, Kubernetes, and VMware for debugging and development purposes. Fitzpatrick also discusses the features of a debugging system that allows users to run commands, stream output, and receive exit codes. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive tour of the tools and processes used in the Go open source project, offering valuable insights for developers and contributors.

    • talk/brad2017
      Half my life spent in open source. May 19, 2017.

      Summary:In this episode of the podcast, titled "Half my life spent in open source, " Brad Fitzpatrick, a software engineer at Google, reflects on his journey through the world of open source. He shares his experiences from his early days in high school, where he first dipped his toes into the world of the internet. Brad reminisces about using AOL and sharing confidential information in chat rooms, as well as getting kicked off and eventually discovering a local ISP. As he delves into web development, Brad talks about the challenges he faced and the skills he acquired. He mentions learning HTML and the tediousness of manually creating web pages. He also discusses his experience with Perl, a language he used to create website pages when other languages were not widely accessible. Throughout his journey, Brad engaged in online forums to improve his skills and overcome obstacles. He excitedly recalls the release of "Programming Perl Second Edition" and how he stumbled upon it while skiing with his family. To his surprise, a stranger overheard his conversation and confirmed that they were talking about the same book. Overall, Brad shares his wisdom and amusing anecdotes from his path through various open source projects over the years. From his early internet experiences to his involvement in web development and his passion for open source, Brad's journey is a testament to the power of curiosity and perseverance in the world of technology.

    • talk/brad2018a
      Go: looking back and looking forward. Apr 2, 2018.

      Summary:In this video episode titled "Go: looking back and looking forward, " Brad Fitzpatrick from Google reflects on the evolution of the Go programming language. He discusses the early history of Go, highlighting the motivation behind its creation, which was the increasing complexity of C++ and slow builds at Google. The development of Go started with designing a specification and consensus among the creators, including Robert Grissom, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. The language evolved with changes in syntax and naming conventions. After two years of development, Go was open sourced, leading to rapid growth and development. The popularity and growth of Go in the past six years can be attributed to the language's compatibility and promise not to break code. While the language itself is relatively stable, the runtime, tools, and ecosystem of Go are constantly evolving and improving. Significant improvements have been made in the Go garbage collector, resulting in reduced pauses and improved performance. The current state of the Go programming language ecosystem is discussed, highlighting improvements in tooling and upcoming features in Go 1. 11. The importance of community feedback in shaping the future of Go is emphasized, as well as the challenge of integrating Go One and Go Two code. The desire for generics in Go is mentioned, although their implementation is uncertain. Discussions are also taking place on reducing error handling. Go is planning significant changes in its upcoming version, focusing on minor cleanups and a smaller standard library. Improved package management is expected to move much of the standard library elsewhere. The text also discusses the importance of simplicity in programming and the desire for future programming languages to be easy to learn. The author shares their experience with BASIC and expresses hope for simplicity in programming languages, but acknowledges uncertainty. The consideration of adding new interfaces to the standard library is discussed, as well as the ongoing discussion within the community about the proper use of the error interface. Overall, this video episode provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the Go programming language, highlighting changes and improvements made leading up to the release of Go 1. It emphasizes the importance of community feedback and the constant evolution of the Go ecosystem.

    • talk/brad2018b
      Go 1 11 and beyond. Aug 26, 2018.

      Summary:In this video episode titled "Brad Fitzpatrick: Go 1. 11 and beyond, " Brad from the Go team at Google discusses the latest updates and future plans for the Go programming language. He highlights the stability of the language specification and standard library, while mentioning the exciting tools and runtime. Go 1. 11 brings updates such as no longer supporting Windows XP and introducing support for web assembly, which allows for high-performance applications on the web platform. However, using Go Web Assembly for web development has its limitations, such as the need to redownload the Go runtime and restrictions on blocking interactions. Brad also discusses new features in Go 1. 11, including Goroutines for concurrent programming and module support. He mentions recent changes in Go modules, performance improvements in struct fields, and upgrades to the compiler. The compiler now tracks relations between variables and can optimize runtime balance checks. The video also addresses the criticism faced by the current version of Go and plans for future releases, such as Go 2. The development of Go 2 will depend on factors like Go modules and the Go 2 design. One of the top priorities for Go 2 is the addition of generics, which has been a topic of debate within the community. The release date for Go 2 is anticipated to be November 2019. The video also discusses the challenges and progress of implementing generics in Go, as well as the complaints and challenges related to Go's error handling approach. The Go team is working on addressing these issues and ensuring compatibility and usability of existing code. Overall, the video provides insights into the current state of Go, its future plans, and the challenges it faces in terms of generics and error handling. It encourages listeners to explore the release notes for more information and stay updated on the latest developments in the Go programming language.

    • talk/brad2018c
      Lightning Talk: The nuclear option, go test -run=InQemu. GopherCon 2018. Sep 11, 2018.

      Summary:In this episode of GopherCon 2018 Lightning Talk, Brad Fitzpatrick discusses the challenges of testing side effects in Go. He suggests injecting side effects and testing them separately, but acknowledges the difficulties that arise when dealing with a large number of side effects. The text also explores the management of side effects and disk space in cloud native environments, as well as the process of expanding disk space and the need for a better tool. Fitzpatrick proposes using a virtual machine, specifically Qemu, for fast and accessible testing. By bypassing the BIOS and grub, Qemu allows for quick booting of a minimal Linux kernel and init RD, which is ideal for efficient testing. He also suggests using Go as an alternative to traditional init systems, simplifying the boot process. This involves copying the Go test executable into the initrd and dynamically generating a user space using a cpio archive. The episode concludes by explaining the process of using the Linux kernel for emulation and testing purposes. Overall, Fitzpatrick's talk provides valuable insights into the challenges of testing side effects in Go and offers innovative solutions for efficient and effective testing.

    • talk/brad2019
      Brad Fitzpatrick likes Go better than C, C++, Rust, Perl, Python, Ruby, JavaScript and Java. Nov 28, 2019.

      Summary:In this episode of the video, titled "Brad Fitzpatrick likes Go better than C, C++, Rust, Perl, Python, Ruby, JavaScript and Java, " the author reflects on their experience with various programming languages. They express a preference for Perl and frustration with languages like C++ and Python. However, they emphasize the importance of personal preference and team conventions when choosing a language. The author goes on to discuss Go, a programming language that combines C and JavaScript features. They highlight its high-level functionality and unique feature called GoRoutines. GoRoutines allows for readable and efficient code that handles APIs and long-running tasks without consuming threads or wasting memory. The author also mentions the diminishing effectiveness of Perl, once a powerful tool, and suggests that it is no longer meeting the required standards. They find Go to be a suitable choice, as it addresses their frustrations with other languages and offers a more efficient and effective solution. Overall, this episode explores the author's journey with programming languages and their ultimate preference for Go. They highlight the importance of personal preference and team conventions when choosing a language, and discuss the unique features of Go that make it a favorable choice.

  • Bryan C. Mills. GitHub

    • talk/bryan2017
      Lightning Talk: An overview of sync.Map. GopherCon 2017. Jul 24, 2017.

      Summary:In this episode of GopherCon 2017, Bryan C Mills gives a lightning talk on the sync. Map in Go 1.9. He starts by explaining that the sync. Map provides atomic versions of common map operations and solves the problem of cache contention. However, he cautions that it is not suitable for all use cases and should not be used in exported APIs. Mills encourages experimentation with different map implementations. He then introduces the synced out map, which is a useful tool for managing maps with stable keys and concurrent loops. However, he mentions that it may have slower performance and larger code size. The API of the synced out map is limited to maintain future optimization possibilities. Mills goes on to discuss the implementation of synced maps in Go 1.9, which improves speed and memory efficiency by using two maps, a mutex, and atomic values. He also mentions that a runtime independent prototype has been developed to optimize efficiency and memory. Finally, Mills talks about the introduction of the 'sink thought map' in the standard library, which eliminates unnecessary pointer indirection. Overall, this lightning talk provides an overview of the sync.Map in Go 1.9 and highlights its benefits and limitations. It also encourages developers to experiment with different map implementations to find the best fit for their use cases.

    • talk/bryan2018
      Rethinking Classical Concurrency Patterns. GopherCon 2018. Sep 14, 2018

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2018 video episode titled "Rethinking Classical Concurrency Patterns, " Bryan C. Mills discusses the importance of reevaluating traditional concurrency patterns in Go programming. He emphasizes the need to understand the principles behind goroutines and channels, which are key components of Go's concurrency model. Mills explores various topics related to asynchronous programming, including condition variables and the worker pool pattern. He explains how asynchronous APIs can improve concurrency and reduce latency, but also acknowledges that they can make the caller side of the API less clear. To address this, he suggests rethinking the pattern by making the API synchronous and allowing the caller to add concurrency as needed. The video also delves into the use of condition variables in Go programming for sharing resources. Mills explains their basic operations and potential downsides, such as spurious wake-ups. He proposes an alternative approach of sharing resources through communication using semaphores and channels, highlighting the simplicity of release and hijack operations in this approach. Additionally, the video discusses the use of channels in Go for communication and resource management. Mills emphasizes the importance of sending data along with signals to ensure all interested receivers receive the data. He introduces the concept of using a cue state struct to efficiently communicate with multiple callers. The worker pool pattern in Go is also explored, which allows for the reuse of goroutines for multiple tasks. Mills acknowledges the challenges of debugging deadlocks and finding specific goroutines in this pattern. He suggests a new approach of starting goroutines only when necessary and using the semaphore channel pattern to limit work, with the goal of simplifying worker pools while still distributing work across threads. Overall, the video provides guidelines for effective use of goroutines and communication in Go programming. It emphasizes the importance of starting goroutines for concurrent work, avoiding blocking the caller, and not spooling up idle workers. Direct communication and clear documentation are also highlighted as crucial aspects of Go programming.

  • Dmitri Shuralyov. (Dmitri Shuralyov, M. Sc.) Website, GitHub, YouTube

    • talk/dmitri2016
      Go in the browser. dotGo. Oct 10, 2016.

      Summary:In this episode of dotGo 2016, Dmitri Shuralyov discusses the use of Go in the browser using the GopherJS compiler. He presents three interesting examples of how Go can be utilized in frontend programming. First, Shuralyov talks about the Kell programming language, which offers a pleasant refactoring experience and easy code reusability across projects. Kell is versatile, working on both desktop and mobile operating systems. Next, he highlights Gopher, a compiler that converts Go code to JavaScript for browser use. He mentions Gopher Jazz and a J's package for JavaScript integration in Go. He also discusses the GS package in Go, which allows developers to interact with JavaScript, providing an API similar to C but with the semantics of the reflect package. This package enables object conversion, key setting, and access to the global object. Shuralyov then introduces Gil, a programming language that can be used on the front end for tasks such as implementing a reader and writer, using the DOM, and making XHR requests. He explains the implementation of an I/O writer and reader in a browser console using the DOM. He also discusses the use of channels and readers in JavaScript to create a blocking operation for user input. Additionally, Shuralyov demonstrates streaming HTTP response bodies in Go and mentions that the same code can be used on the front end using the fetch API. He provides an example of streaming and parsing a CSV file in Go. Finally, he discusses the challenges of using Go in the browser, including the lack of a React-like library and large JavaScript output. However, he emphasizes that Go's performance is excellent and efforts are being made to improve tooling. He suggests targeting web assembly as the next step, although it is still a work in progress. Overall, Shuralyov shares his positive experience with Go and explains why it can make frontend programming enjoyable.

  • Steve Francia. Website, GitHub, Twitter.

    • talk/steve2019a What Should A Modern Practical Programming Language Look Like. Landing Festival. April 4, 2019.
    • talk/steve2019b The Legacy Of Go. Go Lab. Oct 22, 2019.

  • Jonathan Amsterdam.

  • Daniel Martí. Website, GitHub, Twitter

  • Nigel Tao. GitHub, Twitter

  • Michael Matloob. GitHub, Twitter

  • Jay Conrod. Website, Twitter

  • Dave Cheney. Website, GitHub, Twitter

  • Sam Boyer. GitHub, Twitter

  • Fillippo Valsorda. Website, GitHub, Twitter

    • talk/filo2016
      From cgo back to Go. July 12, 2016

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2016 video episode titled "cgo Safely Taming the Beast, " Filippo Valsorda discusses the challenges and benefits of using Cgo in Go development. He highlights the advantages of Go, such as its efficient memory management, speed, and the availability of community-built tools. However, he also acknowledges the limitations of Cgo, including issues with memory management and slow compilation. Valsorda explains the role of garbage collection in managing memory allocation and deallocation in Go. He discusses potential issues with garbage collection when pointers are stored in global variables and the potential issues that can arise when using the garbage collector and Segoe in Go programming. He suggests using C memory instead of Go pointers to avoid these issues. The video also explores the use of an arena for memory management in Go, which simplifies code and eliminates the need for manual memory freeing. Valsorda discusses the use of unsafe pointers in Go for casting memory into different types without a garbage collector. He highlights the benefits of using the Kellogg function for memory allocation and zeroing out. The episode emphasizes the advantages of using Go pointers over C pointers for memory copying and provides instructions on using Go pointers with C functions. The arena pattern is discussed for efficient and reliable memory management in both C and Go programming languages. The video also delves into the rules and consequences of passing pointers in Go, emphasizing the importance of following these rules to avoid program crashes. Valsorda discusses the use of C Go pointers and callbacks, providing guidelines for using export annotations and addressing the issue of user data. The episode covers memory management challenges in both C and Go programming languages, highlighting the importance of sticking to familiar rules to avoid complexity. It suggests running C on its own thread for improved performance but warns about the need for careful memory and concurrency management. Overall, the video provides valuable insights into the challenges and benefits of using Cgo in Go development, offering practical tips and guidelines for efficient memory management and performance optimization.

    • talk/filo2017 From Go to Rust without cgo.
    • talk/filo2018 Why cgo is slow. CapitalGo 2018.
    • talk/speakerdeck

more people and talks should be added...

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Group Interviews

  • talk/goteam2012
    Meet the Go Team. Google I/O 2012. Jul 2, 2012.

    Summary:In the video episode titled "Google I/O 2012 - Meet the Go Team, " the Go Team at Google is introduced. The team consists of members Andrew Gerrand, Brad Fitzpatrick, Ken Thompson, Rob Pike, Robert Griesemer, and David Simons. The team is currently focused on internal development and plans to release Go 1.1 by the end of the year. This release will include performance improvements and minor additions to libraries. The team is committed to making the APIs correct before making significant changes. They are also working on improving the garbage collector and promoting other operating system ports to fully supported status. Go 1.1 will enhance performance, efficiency, and reliability and will support FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and other platforms. The video highlights the impact of concurrency and interfaces on programming in Go. The ease of working with concurrency and the significance of interfaces in software development are discussed. The advantages of package files being a single file are also mentioned, as it simplifies code maintenance. The video also discusses the improvements in scheduling Go routines and ongoing discussions on enhancing the scheduler and efficiency of the Go language runtime. The need for a preemptive scheduler to improve resource management and load balancing is emphasized. The limitations of current concurrency and synchronization features in Go channels are discussed, along with the possibility of implementing higher-order features on top of low-level synchronization features. The importance of structuring programs in Go and the need for higher-level libraries are emphasized, along with the efficiency and flexibility of Go routines. The video also delves into the growth and design processes of the programming languages D and Go. The simplicity and effectiveness of Go can be attributed to the agreement among the creators on every feature. Overall, the video highlights the features and advantages of the Go programming language, including its simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility. The Go Team at Google is actively working on improving the language and addressing its limitations. They are committed to making Go a reliable and efficient programming language for developers.

  • talk/goteam2013
    Fireside Chat with the Go Team. Google I/O 2013. May 18, 2013.

    Summary:In this episode of the Google I/O 2013 Fireside Chat with the Go Team, members of the Go Team at Google, including Andrew Gerrand, Brad Fitzpatrick, David Symonds, Ian Lance Taylor, Nigel Tao, Rob Pike, Robert Griesemer, and Sameer Ajmani, discuss various topics related to the Go programming language. The session begins with a discussion on recent developments in Go, including the release of Go 1.1 and the significant speed improvements that came with the transition from Go 1.0 to 1.1. The team also expresses gratitude for regular users and discusses ongoing efforts to optimize garbage generation in Go programs to improve performance. The conversation then moves on to the issue of versioning in Go Get and potential solutions for better collaboration and stability in teams. The team also discusses the desire for support for compiled Go libraries, although there are no immediate plans for it. The team praises the Go language for Android development but suggests adding more features. They question why expressions were not included in Go and discuss the use of variables instead of vowels and limitations on immutability. The team also discusses the impact of control flow on program reasoning and the performance improvements in Go's interface with cgo. The team also discusses the use of Go at Google, with the company transitioning from using C++ to Go for its internal systems. They discuss the goal of making Go the best language for App Engine and providing excellent tools for it. The team also mentions that debugging tools for running an App Engine app locally are in development. The team explores the compatibility of Go with Chromebook and the possibility of using it as a replacement for Kosh. However, the lack of a script interpreter for Go raises questions about its feasibility. The team also discusses suggestions for improving variable declaration, in-range loops, and the Syscall package in Go. They mention the feasibility of using Go for writing code for Google Glass and discuss the use of JSON RPC and REST API for HTTP communication. The team concludes by mentioning the enthusiasm of former Ruby programmers in the Go community and the potential of creating a Go script interpreter to engage more developers and expand Go's audience. They also discuss the appeal of the Go programming language for former Ruby programmers, highlighting its concurrency packages and structures. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the Go programming language and its future development.

  • talk/goteam2014
    Inside the Gophers Studio with Blake Mizerany. GopherCon 2014. May 21, 2014

    Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2014 Inside the Gophers Studio with Blake Mizerany, " Blake Mizerany, a member of the Go team at Bell Labs, conducts a panel discussion with other members of the team. The episode begins with Blake explaining that he had to change his presentation topic due to overlap with other talks. Instead, he decides to host a Q&A session with Andrew Durand, Rob Commander Pike, Bradley Joseph Fitzpatrick, and Robert Griesinger. The panel discussion revolves around the challenges and experiences of working on the Go team at Bell Labs. One of the frustrations mentioned is the repetitive typing involved in programming. They also discuss the benefits of embedding Pearl in Go and the surprises that come with using Go, such as the HTTP handler funk type and automatic struct generation. The panelists share their experiences and challenges encountered while programming in Go. They mention issues with the XML package, non-nil interfaces, and calling methods on nil pointers. They emphasize the need to educate people about Go's simplicity and the challenges faced by developers transitioning from other languages. The use of channels and select statements in Go routines is highlighted as a common source of awkwardness. The importance of understanding and embracing Go's unique features and mindset is emphasized throughout the discussion. The panelists also discuss their proud contributions and regrets in Go development. They express dissatisfaction with the lack of consistency in variable declaration but acknowledge that it generally works well. The episode also touches on the growth and adoption of the Go programming language. Efforts to enhance the garbage collector in Go and expand its usage beyond servers are mentioned. The growing Go community and potential for widespread adoption are highlighted, although the panelists acknowledge the need for future cleanup in terms of inconsistent naming conventions and legacy packages in the Go standard library. Overall, the episode provides insights into the challenges and experiences of working on the Go team at Bell Labs. It highlights the surprises and challenges encountered while programming in Go, as well as the importance of understanding and embracing Go's unique features. The episode also discusses the growth and potential of the Go programming language, while acknowledging areas for improvement.

  • talk/goteam2019
    Meet the Authors: Go Language. Cloud Next '19. Apr 10, 2019.

    Summary:In this episode of the Cloud Next '19 video, the focus is on the Go programming language. The discussion is led by the authors of Go, Ian Taylor and Robert Van Gent, who introduce themselves and their contributions to the language. They highlight the tools they have developed, such as gofmt and goimports, which have made coding in Go more efficient. The panel discussion delves into the versatility of Go and its advantages in terms of simplicity, efficiency, and concurrency. It is praised for its performance and ease of learning, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced developers. The language has found applications in cloud computing, with Google using it for various services like Docker, Kubernetes, Istio, and gVisor. The panel also discusses the Bazel build system, which is highly effective for complex programs with multiple languages and generated code. While Go has its own build system, Bazel offers a more efficient solution. However, there are still some tools in development that may not fully align with Go's built-in build system. The Go ecosystem is working towards making tools agnostic, allowing developers to use different build systems. The discussion also touches on the improvements made in the Go ecosystem, such as the ability to import GitHub repositories and libraries, and the changes made to the standard library to make it smaller and more modular. The lack of support for Go in Google Cloud and Google App Engine flexible environment is a concern for the audience, but improvements have been made in recent years. The panel also discusses the upcoming release of Go 2, which will bring significant changes to the language and libraries. The Go team is currently focusing on dependency management, errors, and generics for Go 2. The importance of simplicity and readability in code is emphasized, as well as the need for collaboration and transparency in decision-making processes. Overall, the panel highlights the strengths of the Go programming language and its potential for future development. It is clear that Go has become a popular choice for developers due to its simplicity, efficiency, and suitability for large applications and teams.

  • talk/goteam2020a
    GoLab 2020: Go Team AMA. Oct 22, 2020.

    Summary:In this episode of the GoLab conference, Miriah Peterson and Natalie Pistunovich moderate an "Ask Me Anything" session with members of the Go Team, including Carmen Hernandez Andoh, Austin Clements, Katie Hockman, and Ian Lance Taylor. The session provides an opportunity for participants to ask questions about recent developments and future plans for the Go programming language. The conversation covers a range of topics, including the conference's Twitter handle and hashtag, different time zones and locations, and personal details about the team members. Carmen, who is actively involved in the Go community, is mentioned as having recently moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. The author, a facilitator of the session, shares their collection of sewer plate pictures from around the world and their love for their dogs and cat, Java. The author then transitions to their introduction to programming, influenced by their father's career. They recall their early exposure to computers and their interest in programming, leading them to discover their passion for computer science. They discuss their pandemic hobbies, such as smart home automation and cooking, and emphasize the importance of keeping programming languages simple and consistent. The team members discuss their current projects, including improving the linker in Go 116, focusing on CPU and RAM enhancements. They reflect on their experience in the security field and their work on adding native fuzzing to the Go language to identify vulnerabilities. They also mention their focus on improving the runtime and compiler. The team shares their plans for the future of Go, including the implementation of generics, the release of Mango programming language, and the addition of support for concurrent data structures. They discuss the challenges of managing go routines in concurrency and the ongoing project of reducing pause times in the Go garbage collector. The team emphasizes the importance of simplicity in programming and the need for clearer understanding of programs with large numbers of go routines. They express interest in improved observability and debuggability for highly concurrent systems. They also mention the launch of pkg. go. dev, a new package discovery site, and the efforts to make the Go ecosystem easier to use and understand. The team discusses the challenges of managing external contributions to GitHub and improving the review process. They highlight the importance of engaging stakeholders and maintaining good relationships with vulnerability reporters. They also discuss the balance between performance improvements and potential slowdowns. The team emphasizes the importance of fuzzing and language features in software development and the ongoing development of fuzz testing tools. They discuss the challenges of linking large Go projects and the improvements made to the Go linker. The team reflects on their experience transitioning to Go from other programming languages and the value of the Go community. They express gratitude to the participants for joining the conference and announce the schedule for tomorrow's sessions. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the recent developments and future plans for the Go programming language. The team's dedication to improving the language and its ecosystem is evident, and they emphasize the importance of community engagement and collaboration.

  • talk/goteam2020b
    GopherCon 2020: Go Team AMA. Nov 16, 2020.

    Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2020: Ask Me Anything with the Go Team, " Kelsey Hightower from the Google Cloud team moderates a discussion with members of the Go Team. The episode covers a wide range of topics related to the Go programming language and its development. The episode begins by introducing the members of the Go Team and their roles and responsibilities. It then delves into the features and support for editors in Go, particularly highlighting Go Please, a language server that provides editor support and IDE-like features. The Language Server Protocol is mentioned as a way to provide consistent features across different editors. Go Please offers functionalities such as auto completion, jump to definition, find references, and the ability to extract code into its own function. The addition of Go Please to the Acme Editor is mentioned, although the constant information provided is overwhelming for the author. The Go Team's focus on developing Go Package Discovery, a platform for finding and evaluating third-party packages for Go projects, is discussed. Despite delays caused by COVID-19, the team remains committed to unifying the web experience for Go and providing developers with the necessary information to determine if a package meets their criteria. The episode also explores the role of foundations in language communities, with Python having one and Go not. The importance of transparency, decision making, and governance in the Go language community is emphasized. The partnership with the Gobridge foundation, which focuses on providing technical education for underrepresented groups, is mentioned as well. The Go Team's growth and efforts to diversify by bringing in cross-functional partners are highlighted. The challenges faced in developing the Go Package Dev site and a production service are discussed, emphasizing the importance of feedback and communication in addressing these challenges. The episode also touches on the upcoming release of Go 2. 0 and how developers can prepare for it. The introduction of version numbers in Go programming and the challenges they present are explored. The benefits of Go in reducing decision fatigue and conceptual overhead, promoting collaboration, and enabling large-scale projects are acknowledged, along with areas for improvement. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the development and future plans of the Go programming language, while also addressing the challenges and opportunities it presents.

  • talk/goteam2021
    GopherCon 2021: Go Time Live - Go Team "Ask Me Anything", Dec 28, 2021.

    Summary:In the video episode titled "GopherCon 2021: Go Time Live - Go Team 'Ask Me Anything'", Go Time's Host, Mat Ryer, moderates a discussion with members of the Go Team at Google. The episode covers a wide range of topics related to managing and developing the Go programming language. The Go Team at Google has grown from 12 to over 50 members, focusing on scaling and collaboration. They have prioritized security and addressed the needs of mainstream and enterprise adopters. User experience research is important for improving developer workflows, and the team has conducted the Go Developer Survey, which received over 10, 000 responses. One significant focus of the discussion is the introduction of generics in the Go programming language. The impact of generics on the tools ecosystem, package compatibility, and code translation is discussed. The team acknowledges the challenges in areas such as static analyzers and the vet command, and the need for further work. The upcoming release of Go 1. 18 will introduce generics for the core, but most of the standard library still lacks generics. The community aims to make some of the standard library packages generic in a sensible way in the future. The goal is to set a good example and create a good experience for developers. The episode also emphasizes the importance of user feedback in software development, particularly in identifying pain points and addressing security concerns. The Go Team conducts surveys and studies to gather insights from users and prioritizes issues based on their feedback. The discussion also touches on the preferences of team members for different tools and IDEs, such as Jim, VS Code, Vim, and Emacs. The importance of having a text editor for coding and data analysis tasks is highlighted. Overall, the episode provides valuable insights into the Go Team's roles in managing and developing the Go programming language, their focus on security and user experience, and their plans for the future, including the introduction of generics and improvements to the standard library.

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Timeline

A timeline helps you identify the point in time about a document that is reflected in Go versions.

Version Release Expected/Actual Date Days Since Last Release (+Delay)
Go 1 - / 2012.03.28 -
Go 1.1 - / 2013.05.13 440
Go 1.2 - / 2013.12.01 202
Go 1.3 - / 2014.06.18 199
Go 1.4 - / 2014.12.10 175
Go 1.5 2015.07.31 / 2015.08.19 252 (+19)
Go 1.6 2016.01.31 / 2016.02.17 182 (+17)
Go 1.7 2016.07.31 / 2016.08.15 180 (+15)
Go 1.8 2017.01.31 / 2017.02.16 185 (+16)
Go 1.9 2017.07.31 / 2017.08.24 189 (+24)
Go 1.10 2018.01.31 / 2018.02.16 176 (+16)
Go 1.11 2018.07.31 / 2018.08.24 189 (+24)
Go 1.12 2019.01.31 / 2019.02.25 185 (+25)
Go 1.13 2019.07.31 / 2019.09.03 190 (+34)
Go 1.14 2020.01.31 / 2020.02.25 175 (+25)
Go 1.15 2020.07.31 / 2020.08.11 168 (+11)
Go 1.16 2021.01.31 / 2021.02.16 189 (+16)
Go 1.17 2021.07.31 / 2021.08.16 181 (+16)
Go 1.18 2022.01.31 / 2022.03.15 196 (+43)
Go 1.19 2022.07.31 / 2022.08.02 140 (+2)
Go 1.20 2023.01.31 / 2023.02.01 183 (+1)
Go 1.21 2023.07.31 / 2023.08.08 188 (+8)
Go 1.22 2024.01.31 / 2024.02.07 184 (+7)
Go 1.23 2024.07.31 / 2024.08.14 189 (+14)

The historical release notes may helpful for general information:

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Language Design

General

  • design/go0initial Rob Pike, Robert Griesemer, Ken Thompson. The Go Annotated Specification. Mar 3, 2008.
  • design/go0spec0 The Go Programming Language. Language Specification. Mar 7, 2008.
  • design/go0semicolon Rob Pike. Semicolons in Go. Dec 10, 2009.
  • design/go11func Russ Cox. Go 1.1 Function Calls. February 2013
  • design/go11return Russ Cox. Go “Return at End of Function” Requirements. March 2013
  • design/go12nil Russ Cox. Go 1.2 Field Selectors and Nil Checks. July 2013.
  • doc/go13todo Go 1.3 “To Do” List. Jun 1, 2014.
  • doc/goatgoogle Rob Pike. Go at Google - Language Semantics. October 25, 2012.
  • doc/makego Andrew Gerrand. How Go was Made. July 9, 2015.
  • discuss/go1preview Russ Cox. Go 1 Preview. 2011.
  • design/overlapping-interfaces Robert Griesemer. Proposal: Permit embedding of interfaces with overlapping method sets. Oct 16, 2019.
    • issue/6977 spec: allow embedding overlapping interfaces
  • design/struct-conversion Robert Griesemer. Proposal: Ignore tags in struct type conversions. June 16, 2016.
    • issue/16085 Proposal: Ignore tags in struct type conversions
  • design/go2trans Ian Lance Taylor. Proposal: Go 2 transition. October 15, 2018
  • design/signed-int-shift Robert Griesemer. Proposal: Permit Signed Integers as Shift Counts for Go 2. January 17, 2019
    • issue/19113 proposal: spec: allow signed shift counts
  • design/number-literal Russ Cox, Robert Griesemer. Proposal: Go 2 Number Literal Changes. March 6, 2019
    • issue/12711 proposal: different octal base literal representation
    • issue/19308 proposal: spec: binary integer literals
    • issue/28493 proposal: permit blank (_) separator in integer number literals
    • issue/29008 proposal: Go 2: hexadecimal floats
  • discuss/delete-return why delete() doesn't return a bool ?
    • issue/5147 runtime: consider caching previous map hash value
    • issue/51405 proposal: Go 2: builtin: delete should return the deleted map item
  • issue/33502 proposal: review meeting minutes
  • issue/33892 proposal: Go 2 review meeting minutes
  • issue/19623 proposal: spec: change int to be arbitrary precision
  • design/unsafearithmetic Matthew Dempsky. Go 1.4: unsafe.Pointer arithmetic. Aug 2014.
  • issue/19367 unsafe: add Slice(ptr *T, len anyIntegerType) []T
  • issue/40481 unsafe: add Add function
  • issue/53003 unsafe: add StringData, String, SliceData
  • issue/43615 proposal: weak reference maps
  • issue/48105 spec: clarify sequencing of function calls within expressions
  • issue/56351 proposal: spec: add delete(m) to clear map
  • issue/58233 proposal: spec: define return statement's result assignment order?
  • issue/57616 proposal: spec: add simple string interpolation similar to Swift
  • issue/57411 proposal: spec: define initialization order more precisely
  • issue/56103 spec: disallow anonymous interface cycles
  • issue/25448 spec: guarantee non-nil return value from recover
  • issue/61372 proposal: spec: add untyped builtin zero
  • issue/56351 spec: add clear(x) builtin, to clear map, zero content of slice
  • issue/58625 unsafe: allow conversion of uintptr to unsafe.Pointer when it points to non-Go memory
  • discuss/48305 doc comment revisions: headings, lists, and links
  • issue/12445 spec: clarify how unsafe.Pointers may be used to determine offsets between addresses

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Slice (1.2)

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Package Management (1.4, 1.5, 1.7)

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Type alias (1.9)

  • design/type-alias Russ Cox, Robert Griesemer. Proposal: Type Aliases. December 16, 2016
    • talk/type-alias GopherCon 2016 - Lightning Talk: Robert Griesemer - Alias Declarations for Go, A proposal. Oct 9, 2016
    • issue/16339 proposal: Alias declarations for Go
    • issue/18130 all: support gradual code repair while moving a type between packages
  • talk/refactor-video
    Russ Cox. Codebase Refactoring (with help from Go). GothamGo 2016. November 18, 2016.

    Summary:In the video episode titled "GothamGo 2016 Codebase Refactoring (with help from Go)" by Russ Cox, the challenges of working with large code bases in Go and the importance of scalability are discussed. Cox, who has been involved in the development of the Go Programming Language since its early stages, shares his insights on how Go can better assist in the refactoring of code package structures. The episode begins by highlighting the challenges faced when dealing with large code bases, such as Google's single repository, and emphasizes the need for efficient imports and minimizing unnecessary dependencies. Cox explains the reasons for splitting code into separate packages, which include improving manageability and reducing dependencies. Cox then discusses the process of codebase refactoring, suggesting breaking it down into three stages: making preliminary changes, updating the code to use the new API, and removing the old API. This gradual approach allows for easier review and submission of smaller commits, especially when dealing with code spread across multiple repositories. The video also delves into the challenges of achieving interchangeability in Go programming. While functions and types can be defined as interchangeable, moving a type from one package to another poses limitations. Cox mentions a solution implemented in 2011 but suggests it may not be ideal. He also highlights the difficulties faced in the Kubernetes project when moving types in a codebase. Cox proposes the addition of a mechanism to create interchangeable names for types and emphasizes the need for Go to support gradual code repair for moving types between packages. He expresses gratitude for input on the matter and mentions that the inclusion of type aliases is being reevaluated to determine the appropriate course of action. Overall, the podcast provides valuable insights into the challenges of working with large code bases in Go and offers suggestions for improving codebase refactoring and achieving interchangeability.

    + [doc/refactor](https://go.dev/talks/2016/refactor.article) Russ Cox. Codebase Refactoring (with help from Go).

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Defer (1.14)

  • design/open-defer Dan Scales, Keith Randall, and Austin Clements. Proposal: Low-cost defers through inline code, and extra funcdata to manage the panic case. 2019-09-23
  • Unsolved defer recover() edge cases.
    • issue/10458 spec: panicking corner-case semantics
    • issue/23531 spec: recover() in nested defer
    • issue/26275 runtime: document the behaviour of Caller and Callers when used in deferred functions
    • issue/34530 spec: clarify when calling recover stops a panic
    • cl/189377 spec: specify the behavior of recover and recursive panics in more detail

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Error values

Error handling includes two separate works: error values and error formatting. Historically, there was a try proposal that had been investigated for a year, however, due to its lack of simplicity and impact to stack tracing, it was rejected. In 1.13, error values received a large revision, and the package errors includes different APIs, such as errors.Is. Until recently (1.21), #53435 allows wrapping multiple errors, and there is a community repository that tries to implement the original try proposal.

  • doc/err2011 Andrew Gerrand. Error handling in Go. July 2011.
  • doc/err-values Rob Pike. Errors are values. January 2015.
  • doc/err-philosophy Dave Cheney. My philosophy for error handling. April 2016.
  • doc/err-gracefully Dave Cheney. Don’t just check errors, handle them gracefully. April 2016.
  • doc/err-stacktrace Dave Cheney. Stack traces and the errors package. June, 12 2016.
  • doc/err-upspin Rob Pike. Error handling in Upspin. December 06, 2017.
  • doc/err-work Damien Neil and Jonathan Amsterdam. Working with Errors in Go 1.13. October 17, 2019.
  • design/err-handling-overview Russ Cox. Error Handling — Problem Overview.
  • doc/err-value-faq Jonathan Amsterdam and Bryan C. Mills. Error Values: Frequently Asked Questions. August 2019.
  • design/err-handle-check Marcel van Lohuizen. Error Handling — Draft Design. August 27, 2018.
  • design/err-try Robert Griesemer. Proposal: A built-in Go error check function, "try". Jun 12, 2019.
    • issue/32437 Proposal: A built-in Go error check function, "try". Decision response.
  • design/err-inspect Jonathan Amsterdam, Damien Neil. Error Inspection — Draft Design. August 27, 2018.
  • design/err-values-overview Russ Cox. Error Values — Problem Overview. August 27, 2018.
  • design/error-values Jonathan Amsterdam, Russ Cox, Marcel van Lohuizen, Damien Neil. Proposal: Go 2 Error Inspection. January 25, 2019
    • issue/29934 Jonathan Amsterdam. proposal: Go 2 error values. Jan 25, 2019.
    • issue/29934-decision Damien Neil. Go 1.13 lunch decision about error values. May 6, 2019.
    • issue/29934-russ Russ Cox. Response, Response regarding "proposal: Go 2 error values". May 7, 2019.
  • design/err-print Marcel van Lohuizen. Error Printing — Draft Design. August 27, 2018.
  • issue/40432 language: Go 2: error handling meta issue
  • issue/40776 proposal: dynamic ignored error detector
  • issue/41198 proposal: errors: add ErrUnimplemented as standard way for interface method to fail.
  • issue/47811 proposal: errors: add Errors as a standard way to represent multiple errors as a single error
  • issue/53435 proposal: wrapping multiple errors
  • repo/try Try: Simplified Error Handling in Go

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Channel/Select

  • design/lockfree-channels Dmitry Vyukov. Go channels on steroids. Jan 28, 2014
  • issue/8898 runtime: special case timer channels
    • issue/61542 time: stop requiring Timer/Ticker.Stop for prompt GC
  • issue/9120 runtime: remove implementation restriction on channel element size
  • issue/37196 time: make Timer/Ticker channels not receivable with old values after Stop or Reset returns
  • issue/8903 runtime: make chan-based generators faster.
  • issue/21806 fairness in select statement.
  • issue/40410 runtime: trim unnecessary fields from scase
  • issue/40641 runtime: race between stack shrinking and channel send/recv leads to bad sudog values
  • issue/37350 reflect: Select panics if array length greater than 1<<16

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Generics

Iterator

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Compatibility

Compiler Toolchain

Office Hours

  • discuss/runtime-office-hours compiler & runtime office hours
    • talk/runtime-office-meeting1
      Go compiler & runtime office hours 2022-12-19

      Summary:The Go team at Google recently held an open meeting to discuss various topics related to the Go programming language. One of the main concerns raised was the issue of Windows ownership and the perceived neglect of the platform. Microsoft has acknowledged the need for improvement and plans to enhance the integration of Windows and interaction with Windows Tools. Increased community ownership is also seen as beneficial. Another topic of discussion was the potential usefulness of the new standard Library package called Arenas. While Arenas are being used at Google for data serialization and deserialization, there are concerns about manual memory release. Specific feedback is needed to improve the proposed API and address issues like controlling chunk size. The importance of investing in RAM efficiency and reducing memory footprint was emphasized, along with exploring methods to automatically free resources more efficiently. The meeting also touched on the performance trade-offs and impact on different platforms, particularly in atomic reads. A prototype of a Swiss table implementation is being developed, with ongoing discussions and issue tracking. The team is seeking feedback on the benchmarks they are running and their representativeness. Other topics discussed include understanding stack growth and frame pointers in binaries for different architectures, the importance of PDB files for efficient Windows debugging, and the limitations and scalability issues with PGO (Profile-Guided Optimization). The inliner has undergone changes with the implementation of unified IR, removing limitations and enhancing inlining. The team is also exploring ways to integrate inlining and escape analysis into SSA (Static Single Assignment) and improve the computation and usage of hairiness. The meeting concluded with appreciation for the participants, and the next meeting is scheduled for a month later. Overall, the meeting covered a range of topics related to the Go compiler and runtime, addressing concerns, seeking feedback, and discussing potential improvements and optimizations.

    • talk/runtime-office-meeting2
      Go compiler & runtime office hours 2023-01-19

      Summary:In the Go compiler and runtime office hours on January 19, 2023, several key topics were discussed. The focus was on reducing binary sizes and identifying dead code in large programs with dependencies. The current method of using 'go mode vendor' and grep for reflection was considered hacky, and the author suggested that the Linker could provide more detailed information on the function triggering dead code behavior. Reflection abuse in dependency trees can be managed by using a method by name with variable strings and analyzing the entire dependency tree using a reachability graph. The discussion also touched on the challenges faced in debugging on Plan 9 due to infrastructure issues and lack of support for runtime changes. The adoption of the New Port policy has helped reduce this problem. Plan 9's unique memory manager poses compatibility issues with other architectures, and manipulating page tables is a challenge. The system's memory management provides efficient allocation but has limited availability of support. In terms of performance optimization, periodic reloading of data in the live Heap slows down request processing, and garbage collection cycles further slow down go routines. However, scaling the cluster is costly, and optimization efforts can eliminate tail latency. The use of a user space pacer to predict the start of the collection cycle improves CPU time efficiency. Finalizers and background processes schedule and make decisions during garbage collection cycles. Monitoring the live Heap and adjusting trigger points based on its trend is crucial for optimizing performance. Improving communication and support within the Plan 9 community was also highlighted, as well as the process for adding new members to the group. The need for updates in certain apps and understanding the process of updating Go versions was emphasized. Scheduling future discussions on these topics was recommended. Overall, the office hours provided valuable insights into various aspects of the Go compiler and runtime. The discussions focused on reducing binary sizes, identifying dead code, debugging challenges on Plan 9, performance optimization, and improving communication within the community. The experts acknowledged the challenges and committed to finding solutions through open communication and collaboration.

Compiler

  • code/gc0initial Ken Thompson. Go0 compiler initial version. 28 Mar 2008.
  • code/6g Rob Pike. the first complete Go0 compiler. 4 Jun 2008.
  • design/go12symtab Russ Cox. Go 1.2 Runtime Symbol Information. July 2013.
  • design/go13compiler Russ Cox. Go 1.3+ Compiler Overhaul. December 2013
  • design/go14generate Rob Pike. Go generate: A Proposal
  • design/dev.cc Russ Cox. dev.cc branch plan. Nov 2014
  • design/go15bootstrap Russ Cox. Go 1.5 Bootstrap Plan. January 2015.
  • doc/escape-analysis Dmitry Vyukov. Go Escape Analysis Flaws. Feb 10, 2015.
  • design/execmodes Ian Lance Taylor. Go Execution Modes. August, 2014 (updated January 2016)
  • design/go17ssa Keith Randall. New SSA Backend for the Go Compiler. 2/10/2015.
  • doc/compiler-optimization Compiler And Runtime Optimizations.
  • issue/6853 all: binaries too big and growing.
  • design/go19inlining David Lazar, Austin Clements. Proposal: Mid-stack inlining in the Go compiler.
  • design/go122inlining Go 1.22 inlining overhaul
  • design/dwarf-inlining Than McIntosh. Proposal: emit DWARF inlining info in the Go compiler. 2017-10-23.
    • issue/22080 cmd/compile: generated DWARF inlining info
  • issue/23109 cmd/compile: rewrite escape analysis.
  • issue/27167 cmd/compile: rename a bunch of things
  • GOEXPERIMENT=checkptr
  • issue/37121 runtime: unaligned jumps causing performance regression on Intel
  • issue/16798 proposal: cmd/compile: add tail call optimization for self-recursion only. (declined)
  • issue/22624 proposal: Go 2: add become statement to support tail calls (declined)
  • design/64align Dan Scales. Proposal: Make 64-bit fields be 64-bit aligned on 32-bit systems, add //go:packed, //go:align directives. 2020-06-08.
    • issue/599 cmd/compile: make 64-bit fields 64-bit aligned on 32-bit systems
    • issue/36606 proposal: cmd/compile: make 64-bit fields be 64-bit aligned on 32-bit systems, add //go:packed directive on structs
  • talk/gccgo
    Brief overview of gccgo, "the other" Go compiler. Aug 6, 2015.

    Summary:In this episode, Chris Manghane from the core Go language team at Google provides a brief overview of gccgo, also known as "the other Go compiler. " Gccgo is a Go compiler that utilizes the power of GCC for compilation and optimization. It was written by Ian Lance Taylor and released in November 2009, and it is still actively maintained by him. Manghane explains that the decision to develop gccgo using C++ and targeting GCC was made because GCC supports a wide range of architectures and offers extensive capabilities in code analysis, optimization, and generation. By using GCC as a compiler, technical honesty is promoted, as it avoids dependence on a single implementation. Additionally, having multiple implementations of a product helps identify flaws and improve designs. However, gccgo faces challenges in achieving feature parity with the go compiler. It has an outdated garbage collector and experiences delays in updates. Version 1. 4 brings changes to the C runtime and the way the garbage collector expects type information. The shift from segmented to contiguous stacks also poses challenges, as current C compilers do not support the necessary precise control and use of stack knives. Despite these challenges, gccgo has seen significant improvements, becoming separate from GCC and offering greater flexibility. The implementation of LLVM has resulted in a more efficient compiler. The use of Portable Native Client allows for running native code in web browsers, leading to increased adoption of Go. Manghane emphasizes the importance of catching up with the go compiler and experimenting with features like generics. He also highlights the need to improve basic tools, particularly in authorization and book compilers. Minimizing garbage collection overhead is crucial, and stamp analysis is proposed as a method to enhance the performance of the garbage collector. The ultimate goal is to achieve a more efficient and versatile garbage collector. Additionally, the language fancy power has the potential to improve binary generation and inspire improvements in the go compiler.

  • issue/54534 cmd/compile: design doc explaining unified IR implementation
  • discuss/53060 discussion: clarify Go support policy for secondary ports
  • issue/53383 clarify Go support policy for secondary ports
  • Profile-guided Optimization
    • paper/autofdo Chen, et al. AutoFDO: Automatic Feedback-Directed Optimization for Warehouse-Scale Applications. 2016.
    • doc/pgo Profile-guided optimization
    • issue/28262 cmd/compile: feedback-guided optimization
    • issue/55022 proposal: cmd/compile: profile-guided optimization
    • issue/55025 proposal: design and implementation of Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO)
    • design/pgo Proposal: profile-guided optimization
    • design/pgo-implementation Design and Implementation of Profile-Guided Optimization (PGO) for Go
    • issue/62463 cmd/compile: PGO opportunities umbrella issue
    • talk/pgo Michael Pratt, Boost application performance with profile guided optimization, GopherConUK 2024
  • Toolchain Telemetry

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Linker

The Go Linker was written by Ken Thompson. Russ led a few more overhaul in Go 1.3. Austin led a rework to the linker together with Keith, Than, Cheery and many other brilliant brains, which was landed in Go 1.15 and Go 1.16.

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Debugger

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Race Detector

  • issue/42598 runtime: apparent false-positive race report for a buffered channel after CL 220419

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Tracer

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Lock Analysis

  • issue/38029 x/build: linux-amd64-staticlockranking consistently failing
    • cl/192704 runtime: lock operation logging support
    • cl/207348 runtime: release timersLock while running timer
    • cl/207846 runtime: avoid potential deadlock when tracing memory code
    • cl/207619 runtime: static lock ranking for the runtime (enabled by GOEXPERIMENT)
    • cl/222925 cmd/go: define a build tag for any GOEXPERIMENT which is enabled
    • cl/228417 runtime: incorporate Gscan acquire/release into lock ranking order
    • cl/229480 runtime: added several new lock-rank partial order edges
    • cl/231463 runtime: add one extra lock ranking partial edge
    • cl/233599 runtime: add a lock partial order edge (assistQueue -> mspanSpecial)
    • cl/236137 runtime: add three new partial orders for lock ranking
  • issue/40677 runtime: lock held checking

Builder

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Modules

  • design/go-dep Go Packaging Proposal Process
  • design/go-dep2 Dependency Management Tool
    • doc/go-dep Sam Boyer. The Saga of Go Dependency Management. Dec 13, 201
    • talk/go-dep
      GopherCon 2017: Sam Boyer - The New Era of Go Package Management. Jul 24, 2017

      Summary:In the GopherCon 2017 episode titled "The New Era of Go Package Management, " Sam Boyer discusses the importance of package management in software development and the transition towards official tooling. He emphasizes the need for a common language in the software ecosystem to effectively share code and improve collaboration. Boyer acknowledges the challenges of dependency management in Go programming, such as the lack of emphasis on releases and potential conflicts with the go get tool. However, he highlights the Go community's culture of caution and thoughtfulness when dealing with dependencies. Various tools, including Goep, Glide, and GB, have been developed to address reproducibility and versioning issues. The introduction of the vendor directory in 2015 improved dependency management but also introduced new challenges. To address these issues, a committee was formed, and GitHub Depp was introduced as an official experiment in dependency management. Depp relies heavily on community participation and follows a two-file system using a Toml file to declare rules and constraints. It generates a lock file for reproducibility and follows semantic versioning. Boyer also mentions Digby, a package managing gopher that aims to integrate relevant behavior into the tool chain. The development of the Go tool chain involves experimentation and mapping to ensure a clear transition. Boyer emphasizes the importance of community participation and support in the success of these tools. Overall, the Go programming language offers effective dependency management tools and owes its success to the contributions and support of the community.

    • talk/go-dep-design
      dotGo 2017 - sam boyer - The Functional Design of Dep. Dec 8, 2017

      Summary:In this episode of dotGo 2017, Sam Boyer discusses the functional design principles behind dep, a dependency management tool for Go. Despite Go not being a functional language, Boyer demonstrates how principles from functional programming can be leveraged to design efficient and effective Go programs. One key concept Boyer explores is memoization, a technique that improves the performance of functions by caching their results. He explains how memoization can be applied to the Fibonacci sequence, reducing the number of function calls and improving computation time. By storing previously computed values, the time complexity of the function is reduced to O(n). Boyer emphasizes the relevance of memoization in avoiding unnecessary work and highlights dep ensure as a key function in the code. Boyer also delves into the topic of dependency management in Go. He explains that dependency managers map project source code to its dependencies, adding metadata to describe desired sources. He discusses the two notions of 'should' for dependencies: looser constraints and stricter reproducible builds. Go uses static analysis to map project source to manifest, and the relationship between project source, manifest, and lock files is crucial. Boyer explains how the depth model analyzes import statements and uses the go package Tommo to create a lock and populate the vendor directory. Overall, Boyer emphasizes the importance of designing transparent and error-free systems with valid inputs and outputs. He suggests that exploring different programming models, such as functional programming and actor models, can lead to innovative and beneficial systems. By applying principles from functional programming, even in non-functional languages like Go, developers can create more efficient and effective programs.

    • discuss/go-dep
      Building Predictability into Your Pipeline :: Russ Cox; Jess Frazelle, Sam Boyer, Pete Garcin. Feb 22, 2018

      Summary:In the episode "Building Predictability into Your Pipeline, " Pete Garcin from ActiveState, Sam Boyer from Stripe, Russ Cox from Google, and Jess Frazelle from Microsoft discuss the challenges and solutions related to reproducible builds, environment configuration, and dependency management. Dependency management has been a long-standing problem in software development, but Go has made improvements with code hosting site import paths and the introduction of vendor directories. Tools centered around vendor directories, such as DEP, have been widely utilized in production. However, the availability of updated data on its usage is limited. The adoption of semantic versions and the need for clear documentation and user-friendly interfaces are ongoing areas of improvement. Implementing dependency management in the build pipeline has resulted in significant improvements for large projects like Kubernetes. Vigo, a new tool that provides an alternative solution for package management in Go programming, has proven to be highly efficient and capable of handling complex environments. However, the use of symlinks in Kubernetes has caused some problems. Vigo is gaining traction and being adopted by major projects. Reproducible builds ensure consistent deployment of applications, and containerization offers a solution by providing a consistent environment for application deployment. Transitioning to containers has benefits, such as easier updates and maintenance, but it requires effort to change workflows and specific tooling for integration with CI/CD processes. Optimizing container images and reducing dependencies are crucial for performance. Language package managers play a crucial role in software development, and verification steps ensure integrity. Proxy support for the system is a challenge, as companies want to ensure package stability and security. Ongoing work is being done to improve tooling and verification methods, with Microsoft's open source team involved in the development process. The adoption of Go language faces challenges due to its perception as a bleeding-edge technology. To address this, changes are being made to introduce package management and versioning, crucial for reproducible builds and compatibility. Gathering community feedback is essential before implementing these changes, and an official go proposal will soon be initiated. Overall, the experts emphasize the importance of reproducible builds, clear documentation, user-friendly interfaces, and community engagement to overcome challenges in adopting Go and ensure predictability in the software development pipeline.

  • design/vgo Russ Cox. Proposal: Versioned Go Modules. March 20, 2018.
  • design/sumdb Russ Cox, Filippo Valsorda. Proposal: Secure the Public Go Module Ecosystem. April 24, 2019.
    • issue/25530 proposal: cmd/go: secure releases with transparency log
  • issue/23966 why go.mod has its own bespoke syntax?
  • design/lazy-gomod Bryan C. Mills. Proposal: Lazy Module Loading. Feb 20, 2020
  • issue/45713 proposal: cmd/go: add a workspace mode

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gopls

  • design/gopls-workspace Heschi Kreinick, Rebecca Stambler. Proposal: Multi-project gopls workspaces. Mar 9, 2020.

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Testing, x/perf

  • design/subtests Marcel van Lohuizen. testing: programmatic sub-test and sub-benchmark support. September 2, 2015.
    • issue/12166 proposal: testing: programmatic sub-test and sub-benchmark support
  • design/gotest-bench Russ Cox, Austin Clements. Proposal: Go Benchmark Data Format. February 2016.
    • issue/14313 cmd/go: decide, document standard benchmark data format
  • issue/20875 testing: consider calling ReadMemStats less during benchmarking
  • issue/27217 testing: tiny benchmark with StopTimer runs forever
  • issue/41637 testing: benchmark iteration reports incorrectly
  • issue/41641 testing: inconsistent benchmark measurements when interrupts timer
  • design/gotest-json Nodir Turakulov. Proposal: -json flag in go test. 2016-09-14.
  • design/testing-helper Caleb Spare. Proposal: testing: better support test helper functions with TB.Helper. 2016-12-27
    • issue/4899 testing: add t.Helper to make file:line results more useful
  • design/fuzzing Katie Hockman. Design Draft: First Class Fuzzing
  • issue/43744 testing: benchmark unit properties
  • issue/48803 all: Go compiler/runtime performance monitoring system
  • issue/49121 x/perf/storage: support postgres for db
  • issue/61179 proposal: testing: add identity function that forces evaluation for benchmarks
  • issue/67434 proposal: testing/synctest: new package for testing concurrent code

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Runtime Core

Scheduler

  • paper/work-steal Robert D. Blumofe and Charles E. Leiserson. 1999. Scheduling multithreaded computations by work stealing. J. ACM 46, 5 (September 1999), 720-748.
  • cl/sched-m-1 Russ Cox, Clean up scheduler. Aug 5, 2008.
  • cl/sched-m-n things are much better now, Nov 11, 2009.
  • design/go11sched Dmitry Vyukov. Scalable Go Scheduler Design Doc, 2012
  • design/sched-preempt-dmitry Dmitry Vyukov. Go Preemptive Scheduler Design Doc, 2013
  • design/sched-numa Dmitry Vyukov, NUMA-aware scheduler for Go. Sep 2014.
  • design/go15gomaxprocs Russ Cox. Go 1.5 GOMAXPROCS Default. May 2015.
  • doc/go17sched Ian Lance Taylor. How does the golang scheduler work? July 16, 2016.
  • design/sched-preempt-austin Austin Clements. Proposal: Non-cooperative goroutine preemption. Jan 2019.
    • cl/43050 cmd/compile: loop preemption with fault branch on amd64. May 09, 2019.
    • issue/10958 runtime: tight loops should be preemptible
    • issue/24543 runtime: non-cooperative goroutine preemption
    • issue/36365 runtime: clean up async preemption loose ends
  • issue/14592 runtime: let idle OS threads exit
  • issue/18237 runtime: scheduler is slow when goroutines are frequently woken
  • issue/20395 runtime: terminate locked OS thread if its goroutine exits
  • issue/20458 proposal: runtime: pair LockOSThread, UnlockOSThread calls
  • issue/21827 runtime: big performance penalty with runtime.LockOSThread
  • issue/27345 runtime: use parent goroutine's stack for new goroutines
  • issue/28808 runtime: scheduler work stealing slow for high GOMAXPROCS
  • issue/32113 runtime: optimization to reduce P churn.
  • issue/43997 runtime: non-spinning Ms spin uselessly when work exists
  • issue/44313 runtime: stopped Ms can't become dedicated or fractional GC workers
  • issue/51071 runtime: investigate possible Go scheduler improvements inspired by Linux Kernel's CFS

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Execution Stack

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Memory Management

Allocator

A quick history about the Go's memory allocator: Russ Cox first implements the memory allocator based on tcmalloc for Go 1, mcache is cached on M. Then he revised the allocator to allow user code to use 16GB memory and later allows 128GB. However, the allocator (including scavenger) was suffered from massive lock contentions and does not scale. After Dmitry's scalable runtime scheduler, the allocator can allocate directly from P (with much less) lock contentions. In the meantime, the scavenger is migrated from an independent thread into the system monitor thread. Now, Michael is actively working on improving the memory allocator's scalability, such as migrating scavenger to user threads, bitmap-based page allocator, scalable mcentral.

  • doc/tcmalloc Sanjay Ghemawat, Paul Menage. TCMalloc : Thread-Caching Malloc. Google Inc., 2009
  • design/go113scavenge Michael Knyszek. Proposal: Smarter Scavenging. 2019-05-09.
    • issue/30333 runtime: smarter scavenging
    • issue/32012 runtime: background scavenger is overzealous with small heaps
    • issue/31966 runtime: background scavenger can delay deadlock detection significantly
    • issue/34047 runtime: potential deadlock cycle caused by scavenge.lock
    • issue/34048 runtime: scavenger pacing fails to account for fragmentation
    • issue/35788 runtime: scavenger not as effective as in previous releases
    • issue/36521 runtime: performance degradation in go 1.12
    • issue/36603 runtime: sysUsed often called on non-scavenged memory
  • design/go114pagealloc Michael Knyszek, Austin Clements. Proposal: Scaling the Go page allocator. 2019-10-18.
    • issue/35112 runtime: make the page allocator scale
    • cl/200439 runtime: place lower limit on trigger ratio
  • issue/8885 runtime: consider adding 24-byte size class.
  • issue/37487 runtime: improve mcentral scalability
    • cl/221182 runtime: add new mcentral implementation
  • issue/18155 runtime: latency in sweep assists when there's no garbage
  • issue/19112 runtime: deadlock involving gcControllerState.enlistWorker
  • issue/23687 runtime: use MADV_FREE on linux as well
    • cl/135395 runtime: use MADV_FREE on Linux if available
  • issue/29707 cmd/trace: failed to parse trace: no consistent ordering of events possible
  • issue/35954 runtime: handle hitting the top of the address space in the allocator more gracefully
  • issue/37927 runtime: GC pacing exhibits strange behavior with a low GOGC
  • issue/38130 runtime: incorrect sanity checks in the page allocator
  • issue/38404 runtime: STW GC stops working on arm64/mips64le
  • issue/38605 runtime: pageAlloc.allocToCache updates pageAlloc.searchAddr in an invalid way
  • issue/38617 runtime: scavenger freezes up in Go 1.14 in Windows due to coarse time granularity
  • issue/38966 runtime: aix-ppc64 builder is failing with "bad prune", "addr range base and limit are not in the same memory segment" fatal errors
  • issue/39128 runtime: linux-mips-rtrk builder consistently failing with "bad prune" as of CL 233497
  • issue/40191 runtime: pageAlloc.searchAddr may point to unmapped memory in discontiguous heaps, violating its invariant
  • issue/40457 runtime: runqputbatch does not protect its call to globrunqputbatch
  • issue/40641 runtime: race between stack shrinking and channel send/recv leads to bad sudog values
  • issue/42330 runtime: default to MADV_DONTNEED on Linux
    • cl/267100 runtime: default to MADV_DONTNEED on Linux
  • issue/46787 runtime: provide Pinner API for object pinning
  • issue/51317 proposal: arena: new package providing memory arenas
  • issue/59960 runtime: improve heap hugepage utilization
  • issue/62483 unique: new package with unique.Handle

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Collector

  • paper/on-the-fly-gc Edsger W. Dijkstra, Leslie Lamport, A. J. Martin, C. S. Scholten, and E. F. M. Steffens. 1978. On-the-fly garbage collection: An exercise in cooperation. Commun. ACM 21, 11 (November 1978), 966–975.
  • paper/yuasa-barrier T. Yuasa. 1990. Real-time garbage collection on general-purpose machines. J. Syst. Softw. 11, 3 (March 1990), 181-198.
  • design/bettergc Dmitry Vyukov. Better GC and Memory Allocator for Go. May 20, 2013
  • design/go13gc Dmitry Vyukov. Simpler and faster GC for Go. July 16, 2014
  • design/go14gc Richard L. Hudson. Go 1.4+ Garbage Collection (GC) Plan and Roadmap. August 6, 2014.
  • design/go15gcpacing Austin Clements. Go 1.5 concurrent garbage collector pacing. Mar 10, 2015.
  • discuss/gcpacing Austin Clements et al. Discussion of "Proposal: Garbage collector pacing". March 10, 2015.
  • issue/11970 runtime: replace GC coordinator with state machine
  • design/sweep-free-alloc Austin Clements. Proposal: Dense mark bits and sweep-free allocation. Sep 30, 2015.
  • issue/12800 runtime: replace free list with direct bitmap allocation
  • design/decentralized-gc Austin Clements. Proposal: Decentralized GC coordination. October 25, 2015.
  • issue/12967 runtime: shrinkstack during mark termination significantly increases GC STW time
  • issue/14951 runtime: mutator assists are over-aggressive, especially at high GOGC
  • design/eliminate-rescan Austin Clements, Rick Hudson. Eliminate STW stack re-scanning. October 21, 2016.
  • design/concurrent-rescan Austin Clements, Rick Hudson. Proposal: Concurrent stack re-scanning. Oct 18, 2016.
    • issue/17505 runtime: perform concurrent stack re-scanning
  • design/soft-heap-limit Austin Clements. Proposal: Separate soft and hard heap size goal. October 21, 2017.
  • issue/22460 runtime: optimize write barrier
  • design/roc Request Oriented Collector (ROC) Algorithm
  • doc/ismm-gc Rick Hudson. Getting to Go: The Journey of Go's Garbage Collector. 12 July 2018.
  • discuss/ismm-gc Garbage Collection Slides and Transcript now available
  • design/simplify-mark-termination Austin Clements. Proposal: Simplify mark termination and eliminate mark 2. Aug 9, 2018.
    • issue/26903 runtime: simplify mark termination and eliminate mark 2
  • design/gcscan Proposal: GC scanning of stacks
    • issue/22350 cmd/compile: compiler can unexpectedly preserve memory,
  • issue/27993 runtime: error message: P has cached GC work at end of mark termination
  • issue/37116 runtime: 10ms-26ms latency from GC in go1.14rc1, possibly due to 'GC (idle)' work
  • issue/42430 runtime: GC pacer problems meta-issue
    • issue/39983 runtime: idle GC interferes with auto-scaling
    • issue/17969 runtime: aggressive GC completion is disruptive to co-tenants
    • issue/14812 runtime: GC causes latency spikes
    • issue/40460 runtime: goroutines may allocate beyond the hard heap goal
    • issue/29696 proposal: runtime: add way for applications to respond to GC backpressure
    • issue/23044 proposal: runtime: add a mechanism for specifying a minimum target heap size
  • issue/42642 runtime: multi-ms sweep termination pauses (second edition)
  • issue/44163 runtime: remove idle GC workers
  • issue/44167 runtime: GC pacer redesign
  • issue/44309 proposal: runtime/debug: user-configurable memory target
  • issue/48409 proposal: runtime/debug: soft memory limit
  • issue/45894 runtime: mark termination is slow to restart mutator
  • issue/45315 runtime: runtime.GC can return without finishing sweep
  • issue/49075 runtime: possible memory corruption
  • issue/52433 runtime: heap goal overrun due to scheduler delays in mark termination
  • doc/gc-guide A Guide to the Go Garbage Collector
  • issue/12234 runtime: revisit non-constant assist ratio
  • issue/27732 runtime: mark assist blocks GC microbenchmark for 7ms
  • design/batch-wb Keith Randall. Batching Write Barriers. 2022 Oct, 25.
  • issue/31222 runtime: long pauses STW (sweep termination) on massive block allocation

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Statistics

  • issue/16843 runtime: mechanism for monitoring heap size
    • cl/setmaxheap Austin Clements. runtime/debug: add SetMaxHeap API. Jun 26 2017.
  • design/go116runtime-metric Michael Knyszek. Proposal: API for unstable runtime metrics. Mar 18, 2020.
  • issue/19812 runtime: cannot ReadMemStats during GC
  • issue/38712 runtime: TestMemStats is flaky
  • issue/40459 runtime: ReadMemStats called in a loop may prevent GC
  • issue/50285 proposal: runtime/metrics: define a recommended set of metrics
  • issue/15490 runtime/metrics: add goroutine state counts, total goroutines created, total threads

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Memory model

The Go memory model consists the following parts:

  • Memory order regarding atomic operations

  • Memory order regarding the sync package APIs

  • Memory order regarding runtime mechanism (i.e. Object finalizer)

  • doc/refmem Rob Pike and Russ Cox. The Go Memory Model. February 21, 2009.

  • issue/4947 cmd/cc: atomic intrinsics

  • issue/5045 doc: define how sync/atomic interacts with memory model

  • issue/7948 doc: define how sync interacts with memory model

  • issue/9442 doc: define how finalizers interact with memory model

  • issue/33815 doc/go_mem: "hello, world" will not always be printed twice

  • cl/75130045 doc: allow buffered channel as semaphore without initialization

  • doc/gomem Russ Cox. Go’s Memory Model. February 25, 2016.

  • doc/go2017russ Russ Cox. My Go Resolutions for 2017: Memory model. January 18, 2017.

  • doc/atomic-bug Package atomic

  • discuss/atomic-mem-order specify the memory order guarantee provided by atomic Load/Store

  • issue/37355 runtime/race: running with -race misses races (mismatch with memory model)

    • cl/220419 runtime: swap the order of raceacquire() and racerelease
    • issue/42598 runtime: apparent false-positive race report for a buffered channel after CL 220419
    • cl/271987 runtime: check channel's elemsize before calling race detector
    • [paper/fava2020fix] Fava, Daniel Schnetzer. "Finding and Fixing a Mismatch Between the Go Memory Model and Data-Race Detector." International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods. Springer, Cham, 2020.

  • doc/mm Russ Cox. Memory Models. June, 2021.

    • doc/hwmm Russ Cox. Hardware Memory Models. June 29, 2021.
    • doc/plmm Russ Cox. Programming Language Memory Models. July 6, 2021.
    • doc/gomm Russ Cox. Updating the Go Memory Model. July 12, 2021.
    • discuss/47141 Updating the Go memory model.
    • issue/50860 proposal: sync/atomic: add typed atomic values
    • issue/50859 proposal: doc: update Go memory model
    • doc/out-of-thin-air Hans-J. Boehm. P1217R2: Out-of-thin-air, revisited, again. 2019-06-16.
    • doc/cpp-memory-model Hans-J. Boehm, Sarita V. Adve. Foundations of the C++ Concurrency Memory Model. May 21, 2008.
    • cl/381315 doc: update Go memory model
    • cl/381316 runtime, sync, sync/atomic: document happens-before guarantees

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ABI

  • design/cgo-pointers Ian Lance Taylor. Proposal: Rules for passing pointers between Go and C. October, 2015
    • issue/12416 cmd/cgo: specify rules for passing pointers between Go and C
  • design/internal-abi Austin Clements. Proposal: Create an undefined internal calling convention. Jan 14, 2019.
    • issue/27539 proposal: runtime: make the ABI undefined as a step toward changing it.
    • issue/31193 cmd/compile, runtime: reduce function prologue overhead
  • design/register-call Austin Clements, with input from Cherry Zhang, Michael Knyszek, Martin Möhrmann, Michael Pratt, David Chase, Keith Randall, Dan Scales, and Ian Lance Taylor. Proposal: Register-based Go calling convention. Aug 10, 2020.
  • issue/18597 proposal: cmd/compile: define register-based calling convention
  • issue/40724 proposal: switch to a register-based calling convention for Go functions
    • cl/266638 reflect,runtime: use internal ABI for selected ASM routines, attempt 2
    • cl/259445 cmd/compile,cmd/link: initial support for ABI wrappers
  • design/internal-abi-spec Go internal ABI specification.

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Misc

Standard Library

syscall

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os, io, io/fs, embed

In Go 1.16, tons of major rework and improvements surround the new os/fs package.

  • design/draft-iofs Russ Cox, Rob Pike. File System Interfaces for Go — Draft Design. July 2020.
    • issue/13473 proposal: os: Stdin, Stdout and Stderr should be interfaces
    • issue/14106 proposal: os: File should be an interface
    • issue/19660 proposal: io/ioutil: rename to io/fileio or similar
    • issue/40025 proposal: io/ioutil: move Discard, NopCloser, ReadAll to io
    • issue/42027 proposal: path/filepath: add WalkDir (Walk using DirEntry)
    • issue/41190 io/fs: add file system interfaces
    • issue/41467 os: add ReadDir method for lightweight directory reading
    • issue/41974 proposal: io/fs, filepath: add more efficient Walk alternative
    • issue/42026 proposal: os: add ReadDir, ReadFile, WriteFile, CreateTemp, MkdirTemp & deprecate io/ioutil
    • issue/43223 proposal: io/fs, net/http: define interface for automatic ETag serving
  • design/go116embed Embedded files - Russ & Braid
    • issue/41191 embed, cmd/go: add support for embedded files
    • issue/42321 embed: warn about dotfiles in embed.FS documentation
    • issue/42328 proposal: cmd/go: avoid surprising inclusion of "hidden" files when using //go:embed
    • issue/43216 proposal: embed: remove support for embedding directives on local variables
    • issue/43217 proposal: embed: define String and Bytes type aliases that must be used with //go:embed
    • issue/43218 embed: resolve string, []byte issues
    • issue/44166 io/fs,os: fs.ReadDir with an os.DirFS can produce invalid paths
    • issue/42322 io/fs: add func Sub(fsys FS, dir string) FS
  • issue/45757 proposal: io/fs: add writable interfaces
  • issue/9051 io: no easy way to fan out to multiple readers

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go/*

  • doc/gotypes Alan Donovan. go/types: The Go Type Checker.
  • talk/gotypes Alan Donovan. Using go/types for Code Comprehension and Refactoring Tools. October 2, 2015.
  • design/modular-interface Alan Donovan. Proposal: a common interface for modular static analyses for Go. 9 Sep 2018
    • cl/134935 go/analysis: a new API for analysis tools

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sync

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Map

  • issue/21031 sync: reduce pointer overhead in Map
  • issue/21032 sync: reduce (*Map).Load penalty for Stores with new keys
  • issue/21035 sync: reduce contention between Map operations with new-but-disjoint keys
  • issue/37033 runtime: provide centralized facility for managing (c)go pointer handles
  • issue/51972 sync: add new Map methods CompareAndSwap, CompareAndDelete, Swap

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Pool

  • discuss/add-pool gc-aware pool draining policy
  • issue/4720 sync: add Pool type. Jan 28, 2013.
  • cl/46010043 sync: scalable Pool. Jan 24, 2014.
  • cl/86020043 sync: less agressive local caching in Pool. Apr 14, 2014.
  • cl/162980043 sync: release Pool memory during second and later GCs. Oct 22, 2014.
  • issue/8979 sync: Pool does not release memory on GC
  • issue/22331 runtime: clearpools causes excessive STW1 time
  • issue/22950 sync: avoid clearing the full Pool on every GC.
    • cl/166960 sync: use lock-free structure for Pool stealing.
    • cl/166961 166961: sync: smooth out Pool behavior over GC with a victim cache.
  • issue/24479 sync: eliminate global Mutex in Pool operations

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Mutex, RWMutex

  • cl/4631059 runtime: replace Semacquire/Semrelease implementation.
  • issue/9201 proposal: sync: prohibit unlocking mutex in a different goroutine
  • issue/13086 runtime: fall back to fair locks after repeated sleep-acquire failures.
  • issue/17973 sync: RWMutex scales poorly with CPU count
    • cl/215361 sync: Implement a version of RWMutex that can avoid cache contention

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Groups

  • cl/134395 errgroup: rethink concurrency patterns
    • cl/131815 errgroup: handle runtime.Goexit from child goroutines
    • issue/15758 testing: complain loudly during concurrent use of T.FatalX and T.SkipX
    • issue/25448 proposal: promote panic(nil) to non-nil panic value
    • issue/53757 x/sync/errgroup: propagate panics and Goexits through Wait

atomic

  • issue/8739 runtime,sync/atomic: unify API for runtime/internal/atomic and sync/atomic
  • issue/20164 proposal: atomic: add (*Value).Swap
  • discuss/atomic-value
  • issue/36606 proposal: cmd/compile: make 64-bit fields be 64-bit aligned on 32-bit systems, add //go:packed directive on structs
  • issue/37262 runtime: can't atomic access of first word of tiny-allocated struct on 32-bit architecture

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time

  • design/monotonic-time Russ Cox. Proposal: Monotonic Elapsed Time Measurements in Go. January 26, 2017.
    • issue/12914 time: use monotonic clock to measure elapsed time
  • Scalable Timer
    • cl/34784 runtime: improve timers scalability on multi-CPU systems
    • issue/6239 runtime: make timers faster.
    • issue/15133 runtime: timer doesn't scale on multi-CPU systems with a lot of timers
    • issue/27707 time: excessive CPU usage when using Ticker and Sleep.
  • Followup latency issues
    • issue/18023 runtime: unexpectedly large slowdown with runtime.LockOSThread
    • issue/25471 time: Sleep requires ~7 syscalls
    • issue/38070 runtime: timer self-deadlock due to preemption point
    • issue/36298 net: 1.14 performance regression on mac
    • issue/38860 runtime: CPU bound goroutines cause unnecessary timer latency
      • cl/216198 runtime: add goroutines returned by poller to local run queue
      • cl/232199 runtime: steal timers from running P's
      • cl/232298 runtime: reduce timer latency
    • issue/44343 runtime: time.Sleep takes more time than expected
    • issue/44868 time, runtime: zero duration timer takes 2 minutes to fire

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context

  • issue/8082 proposal: spec: represent interfaces by their definition and not by package and name
  • issue/14660 proposal: context: new package for standard library
  • issue/16209 Proposal: relaxed rules for assignability with differently-named but identical interfaces
  • issue/20280 proposal: io: add Context parameter to Reader, etc.
  • issue/21355 proposal: Replace Context with goroutine-local storage
  • issue/24050 testing: test with child process sometimes hangs on 1.10; -timeout not respected
  • issue/27982 proposal: Go 2: bake a cooperative goroutine cancellation mechanism into the language
  • issue/28342 proposal: Go 2: update context package for Go 2
  • issue/29011 proposal: Go 2: use structured concurrency
  • doc/context-go-away Michal Štrba. Context should go away for Go 2. 2017/08/06
  • doc/context Go Concurrency Patterns: Context.
  • doc/context-isnt-for-cancellation Dave Cheney. Context isn’t for cancellation. August 20, 2017.
  • issue/36503 proposal: context: add Merge
  • issue/42564 context: cancelCtx exclusive lock causes extreme contention
  • issue/51365 proposal: context: add APIs for writing and reading cancelation cause
  • issue/56661 context: add APIs for setting a cancelation cause when deadline or timer expires
  • issue/57928 context: add AfterFunc

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encoding

  • design/go12encoding Russ Cox. Go 1.2 encoding.TextMarshaler and TextUnmarshaler. July 2013.
  • design/go12xml Russ Cox. Go 1.2 xml.Marshaler and Unmarshaler. July 2013.
  • design/natural-xml Sam Whited. Proposal: Natural XML. 2016-09-27
    • issue/13504 encoding/xml: add generic representation of XML data
  • design/zip Russ Cox. Proposal: Zip-based Go package archives. February 2016
    • issue/14386 proposal: use zip format inside .a and .o files
  • design/xmlstream Sam Whited. Proposal: XML Stream. Mar 9, 2017.
    • issue/19480 encoding/xml: add decode from TokenReader, to enable stream transformers
  • design/raw-xml Sam Whited. Proposal: Raw XML Token. Sep 1, 2018.

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image, x/image

The following issues are surrounding by the color management of the image standard library. At the moment, Go's image library doesn't read or write meta information from an image in the encoding or decoding phase. Therefore the color information could go wrong while processing an image such as scaling in a non-linear sRGB space. A universal solution is to design image metadata APIs to aware the color profile in an encoded image file.

  • issue/11420 x/image/draw: color space-correct interpolation
    • issue/20613 image/png: don't ignore PNG gAMA chunk
    • issue/27830 proposal: image: decoding options
    • cl/253497 x/image/draw: gamma corrected non linear interpolation
    • issue/37188 image/color: documentation doesn't include links to relevant color theory resources
  • issue/33457 proposal: image: add generic metadata support for jpeg, gif, png
  • issue/44808 image, image/draw: add interfaces for using RGBA64 directly
  • issue/46395 image/draw: increase performances by applying special case if mask is *image.Alpha
  • issue/8055 image: decode / resize into an existing buffer
  • issue/11793 image/color: NRGBA(64).RGBA() optimization
  • issue/15759 image: optimize Image.At().RGBA()
  • issue/20851 image: Decode drops interfaces
  • issue/24499 image/jpeg: Decode is slow

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math

  • issue/8037 cmd/internal/obj/x86: add fma
  • issue/17895 spec: allow the use of fused multiply-add floating point instructions
    • cl/40391 spec: clarify use of fused-floating point operations
  • issue/24813 math/bits: add extended precision Add, Sub, Mul, Div
  • issue/25819 math: add guaranteed FMA

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Mobile

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log

misc

  • design/mobile-audio Jaana Burcu Dogan. Proposal: Audio for Mobile. November 30, 2015.
  • design/localization Marcel van Lohuizen. Proposal: Localization support in Go. Jan 28, 2016.
  • design/unbounded-queue Christian Petrin. Proposal: Built in support for high performance unbounded queue. October 2, 2018
  • design/lockfile Adrien Delorme. Proposal: make the internal lockedfile package public. 2019-10-15.
  • design/cidr Rudi Kramer, James Forrest. Proposal: Add support for CIDR notation in no_proxy variable. 2017-07-10
    • issue/16704 net/http: considering supporting CIDR notation in no_proxy env variable
  • design/dns Sam Whited. Proposal: DNS Based Vanity Imports. 2018-06-30.
    • issue/26160 proposal: use DNS TXT records for vanity import paths
  • issue/46518 net/netip: add new IP address package, use in net
  • issue/53171 proposal: add package for using SIMD instructions
  • issue/54880 math/rand: seed global generator randomly

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Unclassified But Relevant Links

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Fun Facts

  • cl/1 Brian Kernighan. Go's first commit. Jul 19, 1972.
  • issue/9 I have already used the name for MY programming language. Nov 11, 2009
  • issue/2870 9 is prime if it's a hot day. Feb 3, 2012
  • doc/gophercount How Many Go Developers Are There?. November 1, 2019.
  • discuss/google-owns-go Russ Cox's response on "Go is Google's language, not ours"

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Acknowledgements

The document author would like to first thank the TalkGo community creator Mai Yang's champion sponsorship for the golang.design initiative. His creation of the TalkGo significantly changed the Go community in China. He is also a great person that is actively contributing to all kinds of Go related projects.

It is also important to thank the continuing, inspiring discussion and sharing with the TalkGo community core members qcrao, aofei, and eddycjy.

The document would not be organized without all of the supports from them.

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License

golang.design/history | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 © changkun