Why Go is the worst language you could ever learn

Rohit Sharma
2 min readOct 29, 2024

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While opinions on programming languages can be subjective and vary widely based on individual preferences and use cases, here are some criticisms often leveled against Go (Golang) that might lead someone to consider it a less favorable choice for learning:

  1. Limited Language Features: Go is designed to be simple and minimalistic, which means it lacks some features found in other languages, such as generics (though generics were introduced in Go 1.18), operator overloading, and inheritance. This can make certain programming tasks more cumbersome.
  2. Verbose Syntax: Some developers find Go’s syntax to be verbose compared to more concise languages like Python or Ruby. This can lead to longer code for tasks that might be simpler in other languages.
  3. Error Handling: Go uses a unique error handling mechanism that some find cumbersome. Instead of exceptions, functions return error values that must be checked explicitly, leading to repetitive code.
  4. No Native GUI Support: Go is primarily a backend language, and while there are libraries for creating GUIs, they are not as mature or widely used as those in languages like Java or C#.
  5. Concurrency Complexity: While Go’s goroutines and channels are powerful, they can also introduce complexity. Developers need to have a good understanding of concurrency to avoid issues like race conditions.
  6. Lack of Libraries: Although Go has a growing ecosystem, it may not have as many libraries or frameworks as more established languages like JavaScript, Python, or Java. This can make it harder to find solutions for specific problems.
  7. Community and Resources: While Go has a dedicated community, it is smaller compared to languages like JavaScript or Python. This can mean fewer learning resources, tutorials, and community support.
  8. Performance Overhead: Although Go is generally fast, its garbage collector can introduce latency in performance-critical applications compared to languages with manual memory management.
  9. Steep Learning Curve for Beginners: Some beginners may find Go’s strict typing and concurrency model challenging, especially if they come from dynamically typed languages.
  10. Philosophical Differences: Go emphasizes simplicity and clarity, which may not align with the preferences of developers who enjoy more expressive or feature-rich languages.

It’s important to note that many of these criticisms can also be seen as strengths depending on the context. Go is praised for its performance, simplicity, and strong support for concurrent programming, making it an excellent choice for certain applications, particularly in cloud services and microservices. Ultimately, the “worst” language to learn depends on your goals, the projects you want to work on, and your personal preferences as a developer.

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