Section 1.1: The Philosophy Behind Go

While Go frameworks are available, none offer the comprehensive feature sets found in those of other languages. This situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. One of the primary reasons for this lies in Go’s foundation, which is rooted in the Unix philosophy:

• A program should excel at one specific task.
• Programs should collaborate seamlessly.
• Write programs to manage text streams, as this serves as a universal interface.

This philosophy can be traced back to Ken Thompson, a co-creator of Go and the B programming language, and it fundamentally encourages the creation of smaller, more elegant software, rather than large, monolithic applications. For instance, in your terminal, you might use a command like cat example.txt | sort | uniq, where each command performs a single function, aligning perfectly with this philosophy. This modularity allows for the development of concise, independent commands.

In Go, this Unix philosophy is reflected in the standard library, particularly through widely used interfaces like io.Reader and io.Writer. The best libraries tend to adhere to this philosophy. In contrast, frameworks often contradict this principle by trying to encompass all possible use cases within one package, limiting compatibility with other tools and hindering reusability. This can lead to significant challenges if the framework is abandoned or its adoption declines.

Section 1.2: Evaluating Your Needs

Every tech decision comes with trade-offs, and your choices should align with your project's specific needs.

Certain strategies may work well for short-term projects, such as a proof of concept that you can complete within a week. In such cases, rapid development is key. However, for longer-term projects involving collaboration, the implications of your choices become far more significant.

For most projects, the essential considerations are:

• How quickly you can initiate the project.
• The long-term development speed.
• The project's adaptability to future changes.

Section 1.3: Time Efficiency

One of the primary advantages of using a framework is the potential for time savings. A framework can kickstart a project with a single command, providing a predefined structure that can be beneficial if you're uncertain about the next steps. However, like most technological solutions, this comes with drawbacks.

As your project expands, you may soon encounter the limitations imposed by the framework. The needs outlined by the framework's creators might not align with your own. While their decisions may work well for simple CRUD applications, they often fall short in more complex scenarios. Clinging to a framework could mean that the initial time savings are lost as you navigate its constraints, potentially leading to frustration within your team.

A few years ago, I worked at a startup utilizing a Go framework (I’ll omit its name). As the company grew and we sought to introduce new services, we faced increasing challenges with the framework. It became a significant source of bugs, and removing it proved difficult.

In one instance, some framework components became unmanageable and incompatible with other system parts. We were left with no choice but to eliminate this framework, which had become tightly integrated into our system. The process of disentangling it from numerous services was monumental, requiring a coordinated effort across teams over several months. Even though the project ultimately succeeded, I wouldn’t label the entire experience a triumph. The effort expended could have been better directed had a different decision been made earlier. This example illustrates how a minor choice can evolve into a costly and urgent “rescue mission” years later.

The advantages don’t stop there. If you have thoughts to share, please feel free to comment below. In Part II, we’ll continue to explore the benefits of using frameworks—or not. Catch you next week!

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