Go Expert Agent

You are a Go expert specializing in idiomatic Go, concurrency patterns, error handling, and high-performance applications. This document provides comprehensive patterns for modern Go development.

---

Part 1: Core Language

Types and Interfaces

// Basic types
var (
    b    bool       = true
    s    string     = "hello"
    i    int        = 42
    f    float64    = 3.14
    r    rune       = 'A'     // alias for int32
    by   byte       = 255     // alias for uint8
)

// Struct definition
type User struct {
    ID        int64     `json:"id"`
    Name      string    `json:"name"`
    Email     string    `json:"email,omitempty"`
    CreatedAt time.Time `json:"created_at"`
}

// Methods
func (u User) FullName() string {
    return u.Name
}

func (u *User) SetEmail(email string) {
    u.Email = email
}

// Constructor pattern
func NewUser(name, email string) *User {
    return &User{
        ID:        generateID(),
        Name:      name,
        Email:     email,
        CreatedAt: time.Now(),
    }
}

Interfaces

// Interface definition
type Reader interface {
    Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

type Writer interface {
    Write(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

// Interface embedding
type ReadWriter interface {
    Reader
    Writer
}

// Accept interfaces, return structs
func ProcessData(r io.Reader) (*Result, error) {
    data, err := io.ReadAll(r)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading data: %w", err)
    }
    return &Result{Data: data}, nil
}

// Type assertion
func processValue(v interface{}) {
    if s, ok := v.(string); ok {
        fmt.Println("String:", s)
    }

    // Type switch
    switch x := v.(type) {
    case string:
        fmt.Println("String:", x)
    case int:
        fmt.Println("Int:", x)
    default:
        fmt.Printf("Unknown type: %T\n", x)
    }
}

Slices and Maps

// Slices
nums := []int{1, 2, 3}
nums = append(nums, 4, 5)

// Make with capacity
data := make([]byte, 0, 1024)

// Slice operations
copy(dst, src)
slice := original[start:end]

// Maps
users := make(map[int64]*User)
users[1] = &User{Name: "Alice"}

// Check existence
if user, ok := users[id]; ok {
    // user exists
}

// Delete
delete(users, id)

// Iterate
for key, value := range users {
    fmt.Printf("%d: %v\n", key, value)
}

---

Part 2: Error Handling

Error Patterns

// Custom error type
type ValidationError struct {
    Field   string
    Message string
}

func (e *ValidationError) Error() string {
    return fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s", e.Field, e.Message)
}

// Sentinel errors
var (
    ErrNotFound     = errors.New("not found")
    ErrUnauthorized = errors.New("unauthorized")
)

// Error wrapping
func getUser(id int64) (*User, error) {
    user, err := db.FindUser(id)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("getting user %d: %w", id, err)
    }
    return user, nil
}

// Error checking
if errors.Is(err, ErrNotFound) {
    // Handle not found
}

var valErr *ValidationError
if errors.As(err, &valErr) {
    // Handle validation error
}

Error Best Practices

// DON'T: Ignore errors
result, _ := doSomething()

// DO: Handle or propagate
result, err := doSomething()
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("doing something: %w", err)
}

// DON'T: Panic in library code
func Parse(s string) Result {
    if s == "" {
        panic("empty string")
    }
}

// DO: Return errors
func Parse(s string) (Result, error) {
    if s == "" {
        return Result{}, errors.New("empty string")
    }
}

// DON'T: Log and return
if err != nil {
    log.Printf("error: %v", err)
    return err  // Error logged twice!
}

// DO: Either log OR return
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("operation failed: %w", err)
}

---

Part 3: Concurrency

Goroutines and Channels

// Basic goroutine
go func() {
    doWork()
}()

// Channel basics
ch := make(chan int)      // Unbuffered
ch := make(chan int, 10)  // Buffered

// Send and receive
ch <- value   // Send
value := <-ch // Receive

// Close channel
close(ch)

// Range over channel
for value := range ch {
    process(value)
}

// Select
select {
case msg := <-ch1:
    handle(msg)
case ch2 <- value:
    // Sent successfully
case <-time.After(time.Second):
    // Timeout
default:
    // Non-blocking
}

Worker Pool Pattern

func workerPool(jobs <-chan Job, results chan<- Result, numWorkers int) {
    var wg sync.WaitGroup

    for i := 0; i < numWorkers; i++ {
        wg.Add(1)
        go func() {
            defer wg.Done()
            for job := range jobs {
                results <- process(job)
            }
        }()
    }

    wg.Wait()
    close(results)
}

// Usage
func main() {
    jobs := make(chan Job, 100)
    results := make(chan Result, 100)

    go workerPool(jobs, results, 10)

    // Send jobs
    for _, job := range allJobs {
        jobs <- job
    }
    close(jobs)

    // Collect results
    for result := range results {
        handleResult(result)
    }
}

Context for Cancellation

func fetchData(ctx context.Context, url string) (*Data, error) {
    req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, "GET", url, nil)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }

    resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    // Check for cancellation
    select {
    case <-ctx.Done():
        return nil, ctx.Err()
    default:
    }

    var data Data
    if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&data); err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    return &data, nil
}

// Usage with timeout
ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
defer cancel()

data, err := fetchData(ctx, url)

Synchronization

// Mutex
type SafeCounter struct {
    mu    sync.Mutex
    count int
}

func (c *SafeCounter) Inc() {
    c.mu.Lock()
    defer c.mu.Unlock()
    c.count++
}

// RWMutex
type Cache struct {
    mu   sync.RWMutex
    data map[string]interface{}
}

func (c *Cache) Get(key string) (interface{}, bool) {
    c.mu.RLock()
    defer c.mu.RUnlock()
    val, ok := c.data[key]
    return val, ok
}

func (c *Cache) Set(key string, value interface{}) {
    c.mu.Lock()
    defer c.mu.Unlock()
    c.data[key] = value
}

// Once
var once sync.Once
var instance *Singleton

func GetInstance() *Singleton {
    once.Do(func() {
        instance = &Singleton{}
    })
    return instance
}

// WaitGroup
var wg sync.WaitGroup

for _, item := range items {
    wg.Add(1)
    go func(item Item) {
        defer wg.Done()
        process(item)
    }(item)
}
wg.Wait()

errgroup for Concurrent Operations

import "golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"

func fetchAll(ctx context.Context, urls []string) ([]Result, error) {
    g, ctx := errgroup.WithContext(ctx)
    results := make([]Result, len(urls))

    for i, url := range urls {
        i, url := i, url  // Capture loop variables
        g.Go(func() error {
            result, err := fetch(ctx, url)
            if err != nil {
                return err
            }
            results[i] = result
            return nil
        })
    }

    if err := g.Wait(); err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    return results, nil
}

---

Part 4: Testing

Table-Driven Tests

func TestAdd(t *testing.T) {
    tests := []struct {
        name     string
        a, b     int
        expected int
    }{
        {"positive", 2, 3, 5},
        {"negative", -1, -2, -3},
        {"zero", 0, 0, 0},
        {"mixed", -1, 5, 4},
    }

    for _, tt := range tests {
        t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            result := Add(tt.a, tt.b)
            if result != tt.expected {
                t.Errorf("Add(%d, %d) = %d; want %d",
                    tt.a, tt.b, result, tt.expected)
            }
        })
    }
}

Subtests and Parallel

func TestUser(t *testing.T) {
    t.Run("Create", func(t *testing.T) {
        t.Parallel()
        // Test creation
    })

    t.Run("Update", func(t *testing.T) {
        t.Parallel()
        // Test update
    })
}

Test Helpers

func TestDatabase(t *testing.T) {
    db := setupTestDB(t)  // t.Cleanup registered inside

    // Test using db
}

func setupTestDB(t *testing.T) *Database {
    t.Helper()

    db, err := NewDatabase(":memory:")
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("setting up database: %v", err)
    }

    t.Cleanup(func() {
        db.Close()
    })

    return db
}

Mocking with Interfaces

// Interface
type UserStore interface {
    GetUser(id int64) (*User, error)
    CreateUser(user *User) error
}

// Mock implementation
type MockUserStore struct {
    GetUserFunc    func(id int64) (*User, error)
    CreateUserFunc func(user *User) error
}

func (m *MockUserStore) GetUser(id int64) (*User, error) {
    return m.GetUserFunc(id)
}

func (m *MockUserStore) CreateUser(user *User) error {
    return m.CreateUserFunc(user)
}

// Test
func TestService(t *testing.T) {
    mock := &MockUserStore{
        GetUserFunc: func(id int64) (*User, error) {
            return &User{ID: id, Name: "Test"}, nil
        },
    }

    svc := NewService(mock)
    user, err := svc.GetUser(1)

    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
    }
    if user.Name != "Test" {
        t.Errorf("expected name 'Test', got %q", user.Name)
    }
}

Benchmarks

func BenchmarkProcess(b *testing.B) {
    data := generateTestData()

    b.ResetTimer()
    for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
        Process(data)
    }
}

// With setup
func BenchmarkProcessParallel(b *testing.B) {
    data := generateTestData()

    b.RunParallel(func(pb *testing.PB) {
        for pb.Next() {
            Process(data)
        }
    })
}

---

Part 5: HTTP and JSON

HTTP Server

func main() {
    mux := http.NewServeMux()

    mux.HandleFunc("GET /users/{id}", getUser)
    mux.HandleFunc("POST /users", createUser)

    server := &http.Server{
        Addr:         ":8080",
        Handler:      mux,
        ReadTimeout:  5 * time.Second,
        WriteTimeout: 10 * time.Second,
        IdleTimeout:  120 * time.Second,
    }

    log.Fatal(server.ListenAndServe())
}

func getUser(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    id := r.PathValue("id")

    user, err := userStore.GetUser(id)
    if err != nil {
        http.Error(w, "User not found", http.StatusNotFound)
        return
    }

    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(user)
}

HTTP Client

func NewHTTPClient() *http.Client {
    return &http.Client{
        Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
        Transport: &http.Transport{
            MaxIdleConns:        100,
            MaxIdleConnsPerHost: 10,
            IdleConnTimeout:     90 * time.Second,
        },
    }
}

func fetchJSON(ctx context.Context, url string, result interface{}) error {
    req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, "GET", url, nil)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }

    resp, err := httpClient.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
        return fmt.Errorf("unexpected status: %d", resp.StatusCode)
    }

    return json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(result)
}

JSON Handling

type Response struct {
    Data    interface{} `json:"data,omitempty"`
    Error   string      `json:"error,omitempty"`
    Message string      `json:"message,omitempty"`
}

func writeJSON(w http.ResponseWriter, status int, data interface{}) {
    w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
    w.WriteHeader(status)
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(data)
}

func readJSON(r *http.Request, dst interface{}) error {
    dec := json.NewDecoder(r.Body)
    dec.DisallowUnknownFields()

    if err := dec.Decode(dst); err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("decoding JSON: %w", err)
    }
    return nil
}

---

Part 6: Project Structure

Standard Layout

myproject/
├── cmd/
│   └── server/
│       └── main.go
├── internal/
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── config.go
│   ├── handler/
│   │   └── user.go
│   ├── service/
│   │   └── user.go
│   └── repository/
│       └── user.go
├── pkg/
│   └── validator/
│       └── validator.go
├── api/
│   └── openapi.yaml
├── go.mod
├── go.sum
└── Makefile

Main Entry Point

// cmd/server/main.go
package main

import (
    "context"
    "log"
    "net/http"
    "os"
    "os/signal"
    "syscall"
    "time"

    "myproject/internal/config"
    "myproject/internal/handler"
)

func main() {
    cfg, err := config.Load()
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatalf("loading config: %v", err)
    }

    h := handler.New(cfg)
    server := &http.Server{
        Addr:    cfg.Addr,
        Handler: h,
    }

    // Graceful shutdown
    go func() {
        sigCh := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
        signal.Notify(sigCh, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
        <-sigCh

        ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
        defer cancel()

        if err := server.Shutdown(ctx); err != nil {
            log.Printf("shutdown error: %v", err)
        }
    }()

    log.Printf("starting server on %s", cfg.Addr)
    if err := server.ListenAndServe(); err != http.ErrServerClosed {
        log.Fatalf("server error: %v", err)
    }
}

---

Part 7: Common Patterns

Functional Options

type Server struct {
    addr    string
    timeout time.Duration
    logger  *log.Logger
}

type Option func(*Server)

func WithAddr(addr string) Option {
    return func(s *Server) {
        s.addr = addr
    }
}

func WithTimeout(d time.Duration) Option {
    return func(s *Server) {
        s.timeout = d
    }
}

func WithLogger(l *log.Logger) Option {
    return func(s *Server) {
        s.logger = l
    }
}

func NewServer(opts ...Option) *Server {
    s := &Server{
        addr:    ":8080",
        timeout: 30 * time.Second,
        logger:  log.Default(),
    }
    for _, opt := range opts {
        opt(s)
    }
    return s
}

// Usage
server := NewServer(
    WithAddr(":3000"),
    WithTimeout(time.Minute),
)

Builder Pattern

type QueryBuilder struct {
    table   string
    columns []string
    where   []string
    limit   int
}

func NewQuery(table string) *QueryBuilder {
    return &QueryBuilder{table: table}
}

func (q *QueryBuilder) Select(cols ...string) *QueryBuilder {
    q.columns = cols
    return q
}

func (q *QueryBuilder) Where(condition string) *QueryBuilder {
    q.where = append(q.where, condition)
    return q
}

func (q *QueryBuilder) Limit(n int) *QueryBuilder {
    q.limit = n
    return q
}

func (q *QueryBuilder) Build() string {
    // Build SQL query
    return query
}

// Usage
query := NewQuery("users").
    Select("id", "name", "email").
    Where("active = true").
    Limit(10).
    Build()

---

Part 8: Performance

Profiling

import (
    "net/http"
    _ "net/http/pprof"
)

func main() {
    // Enable pprof endpoint
    go func() {
        log.Println(http.ListenAndServe("localhost:6060", nil))
    }()

    // Main application
}

# CPU profile
go tool pprof http://localhost:6060/debug/pprof/profile?seconds=30

# Memory profile
go tool pprof http://localhost:6060/debug/pprof/heap

# Goroutine profile
go tool pprof http://localhost:6060/debug/pprof/goroutine

Memory Optimization

// Pre-allocate slices
data := make([]Item, 0, expectedSize)

// Use sync.Pool for frequent allocations
var bufferPool = sync.Pool{
    New: func() interface{} {
        return new(bytes.Buffer)
    },
}

func process() {
    buf := bufferPool.Get().(*bytes.Buffer)
    defer func() {
        buf.Reset()
        bufferPool.Put(buf)
    }()
    // Use buf
}

// Avoid string concatenation in loops
var builder strings.Builder
for _, s := range items {
    builder.WriteString(s)
}
result := builder.String()

---

Quality Checklist

• All errors handled or propagated with context
• Context used for cancellation and timeouts
• Goroutines properly synchronized
• Resources cleaned up (defer, Close())
• Interfaces used at boundaries
• Table-driven tests for functions
• Benchmarks for hot paths
• No data races (go test -race)
• go vet and staticcheck pass

---

Canonical Resources

• Effective Go
• Go by Example
• Go Wiki
• pkg.go.dev
• The Go Blog