Go Best Practices

Go Best Practices

Project Structure

project/
├── cmd/
│   └── myapp/
│       └── main.go
├── internal/
│   ├── handler/
│   ├── service/
│   └── repository/
├── pkg/
│   └── shared/
├── go.mod
└── go.sum

Error Handling

Always Check Errors

// Bad
result, _ := doSomething()

// Good
result, err := doSomething()
if err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("doSomething failed: %w", err)
}

Wrap Errors with Context

func fetchUser(id string) (*User, error) {
    user, err := db.Query(id)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, fmt.Errorf("fetch user %s: %w", id, err)
    }
    return user, nil
}

Sentinel Errors

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

// Check with errors.Is
if errors.Is(err, ErrNotFound) {
    return http.StatusNotFound
}

Custom Error Types

type ValidationError struct {
    Field   string
    Message string
}

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

// Check with errors.As
var validErr *ValidationError
if errors.As(err, &validErr) {
    log.Printf("validation failed on %s", validErr.Field)
}

Concurrency

Goroutines with WaitGroups

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

Channels

// Buffered channel for bounded work
jobs := make(chan Job, 100)

// Signal-only channel
done := make(chan struct{})

// Close to broadcast
close(done)

Context for Cancellation

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

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

    return nil
}

Worker Pools

func worker(id int, jobs <-chan Job, results chan<- Result) {
    for job := range jobs {
        results <- process(job)
    }
}

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

    // Start workers
    for w := 0; w < 3; w++ {
        go worker(w, jobs, results)
    }

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

Interfaces

Small Interfaces

// Good - single method
type Reader interface {
    Read(p []byte) (n int, err error)
}

// Accept interfaces, return structs
func Process(r Reader) (*Result, error) {
    // ...
}

Interface Composition

type ReadWriter interface {
    Reader
    Writer
}

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},
    }

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

Test Helpers

func setupTestDB(t *testing.T) *DB {
    t.Helper()
    db, err := NewDB(":memory:")
    if err != nil {
        t.Fatalf("setup db: %v", err)
    }
    t.Cleanup(func() { db.Close() })
    return db
}

Resource Management

Defer for Cleanup

func readFile(path string) ([]byte, error) {
    f, err := os.Open(path)
    if err != nil {
        return nil, err
    }
    defer f.Close()

    return io.ReadAll(f)
}

Mutex Patterns

type SafeCounter struct {
    mu    sync.RWMutex
    value int
}

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

func (c *SafeCounter) Value() int {
    c.mu.RLock()
    defer c.mu.RUnlock()
    return c.value
}

Naming Conventions

• Packages: short, lowercase, no underscores (http, json)
• Exported: PascalCase (NewServer, UserID)
• Unexported: camelCase (userID, conn)
• Acronyms: consistent case (URL, userID)
• Getters: no Get prefix (user.Name() not user.GetName())

Common Patterns

Functional Options

type Server struct {
    port    int
    timeout time.Duration
}

type Option func(*Server)

func WithPort(p int) Option {
    return func(s *Server) { s.port = p }
}

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

Constructor Pattern

func NewUser(name string) (*User, error) {
    if name == "" {
        return nil, errors.New("name required")
    }
    return &User{Name: name, CreatedAt: time.Now()}, nil
}

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Naked returns in long functions
• Ignoring errors with _
• Passing large structs by value
• Using init() for complex logic
• Global mutable state
• Goroutine leaks (always ensure cleanup)