Go Concurrency Patterns

Go Concurrency Patterns

Ownership transfers on send: one goroutine owns a value at a time. Unbuffered = sync point; buffered = bounded decoupling.

Channel blocking

Semaphore via buffered channel

var sem = make(chan struct{}, MaxOutstanding)
func handle(r *Request) {
    sem <- struct{}{}
    defer func() { <-sem }()
    process(r)
}

Replaces mutex+counter. struct{} is zero-byte.

Non-blocking select (leaky buffer)

select {
case b = <-freeList:   // try pool
default:
    b = new(Buffer)    // allocate fallback
}
...
select {
case freeList <- b:    // try return
default:               // drop; GC reclaims
}

default: makes select non-blocking.

Channel-of-channels for replies

type Request struct {
    args  []int
    reply chan int
}
queue <- &Request{args, make(chan int)}
ans := <-req.reply

Each request carries its own reply channel — no correlation IDs.

Fan-out across cores

n := runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0)
c := make(chan int, n)         // buffered for drain
for i := 0; i < n; i++ { go worker(i, c) }
for i := 0; i < n; i++ { <-c } // join

Buffer size = worker count so the last worker never blocks.

Pitfalls

• Loop-variable capture (Go <1.22): for req := range q { go f(req) } — all goroutines see the final req. Pass as arg: go func(r *Req){ f(r) }(req), or upgrade to 1.22+.
• Goroutine leak: go func(){ c <- 1 }() with no receiver blocks forever; the goroutine outlives its caller. Size buffers correctly or guarantee a receiver before sending.
• Closing from the receiver side: sending on a closed channel panics. Only the sole sender may close; with multiple senders use a separate done channel or sync.Once.
• Unbuffered self-deadlock: sending and receiving on the same unbuffered channel in one goroutine deadlocks instantly.
• Select starvation: select chooses randomly among ready cases. A default: branch disables blocking entirely — don't include one when you actually want to wait.