# Go language


I've been wanting to learn (and do something) with the language
[Erlang](http://www.erlang.org) for over two years now. But every time
I fire up `vim` and start typing a get a *this-is-not-Unix* feeling (aka
*Java-sickness*). The syntax is just not right for me.

But now Google, by the creators of Unix and C, give us
[Go](http://www.golang.org)! Which promises to give us Erlang
functionality in a C-like language. *Just what I wanted!*

Basically just follow the steps on
[golang.org](http://golang.org/doc/install.html). In short
it boils down to:

    sudo apt-get install bison gcc libc6-dev ed
    sudo apt-get install mercurial
    hg clone -r release https://go.googlecode.com/hg/ ~/go

OK, now you have the source, set the Go variables to their
correct values.

    export GOROOT=~/go
    export GOOS=linux
    export GOARCH=386  # or amd64 for 64 bit

Now build and install it

    cd ~/go/src
    ./all.bash

Typically to binaries are installed to ~/bin, so be sure that you
have that directory in your path. The following is installed in my
case:

    % ls -l | grep 2009-11-12 | awk ' { print $8 } '
    6cov
    6nm
    6prof
    8a
    8c
    8g
    8l
    cgo
    ebnflint
    godefs
    godoc
    gofmt
    gopack
    gotest
    goyacc
    hgpatch
    quietgcc

Now step two: learning and programming in the language itself...