Golang Database

Golang Database

Priority: P0 (CRITICAL)

Rules

• Prefer explicit SQL or generated query layers when performance and shape matter.
• Configure the pool; defaults are rarely enough for real traffic.
• Pass context.Context as the first argument to every query path.
• Strict Parameterization: Always use parameterized placeholders (?, $1); never interpolate user strings into queries.
• Dynamic IN Batching: Generate safe placeholders (strings.Repeat("?,", len(ids))) or sqlx.In and partition lists into chunks ≤ 1,000 items to avoid driver parameter limits.
• Explicit Column Aliasing: Always alias duplicate column names in multi-table queries (e.g. m.code AS code); drivers map by name and silently collide on joins.
• Transaction Boundaries: Manage transactions at the service layer using withTx(ctx, db, fn) with mandatory defer tx.Rollback(). Keep transactions short and focused on writes.
• Streaming & Keyset Pagination: Stream large result sets using rows.Next() directly into models to prevent unbounded memory allocation.

Recipe

1. Choose the access layer: database/sql, pgx, sqlx, sqlc, or ORM only if standardized.
2. Tune the pool: max open, max idle, connection lifetime, and idle lifetime.
3. Hide storage details behind repository methods or query services.
4. Close rows and inspect rows.Err().
5. Wrap multi-step writes in one transaction using a withTx helper with defer tx.Rollback().
6. Chunk large slice lookups: partition slices into batches of ≤ 1,000 before running IN queries.

Verify

• Query methods accept context.Context.
• Pool settings are explicit.
• Rows are closed and iteration errors checked (rows.Err()).
• Large IN (...) queries chunk parameters into batches of ≤ 1,000.
• Joined queries use explicit column aliases without SELECT *.
• Transaction scope matches one business action and uses defer tx.Rollback().
• Retry/idempotency policy is clear for contested writes.

Anti-Patterns

• No global db var: inject DB connection via constructor.
• No context-less queries: use QueryContext/ExecContext; bare queries ignore timeouts.
• No string concatenation in SQL: never build dynamic clauses with fmt.Sprintf or +.
• No unbounded IN lists: avoid passing un-chunked slices with > 1,000 items into a single query.
• No SELECT * on Joins: avoid unaliased duplicate column names across joined tables.
• No leaked rows: always defer rows.Close() and check rows.Err().
• No transaction split-brain: handler, repo, and service cannot each open their own transaction for one unit of work.

References

• Framework Map
• Repository Pattern Implementation
• Connection Tuning