How Golang Developers Help Companies Build Real-Time Applications

The demand for real-time software applications has surged in recent years, not least due to rapid advancements in technology and ever-evolving user expectations.  Able to facilitate seamless and interactive experiences for users, these state-of-the-art applications play a key role in various industries, from social media to e-commerce. As the race to develop high-quality, user-friendly software gets more competitive, tech companies are increasingly relying on Golang developers to build their real-time applications. 

Golang's unique combination of features makes it a perfect choice for software developers looking to create high-performance, interactive applications. So, why is Golang a favoured programming language for software developers? And how do Golang developers help businesses build exceptional real-time applications? 

In this guide, we will explore both of these key questions. We’ll delve into why real-time applications have become so widely used, explore Golang’s strengths in detail, and take a look at the best practices Golang developers follow when for real-world application development. 

The Growing Popularity of Real-Time Software Applications  

The increasing prevalence of cutting-edge technology has altered many aspects of our personal and professional lives. One of the most significant outcomes of the digital transformation has been the changing expectations of users. Owing to the rise of applications like instant messaging services, video streaming sites, and social media platforms, users today expect engaging and interactive experiences that give them immediate access to information and services. 

Analysis conducted by Global Market Insights reveals that this trend will continue at pace for the foreseeable future. According to their figures, the real-time operating system market size is forecasted to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% between 2023 and 2032. Considering this unstoppable rise in popularity, it is unsurprising that so many tech businesses are choosing to shore up their real-time application development efforts by hiring top-quality software developers. 

Let’s take a detailed look at the most important factors contributing to the widespread adoption of real-time applications: 

• Technological Advancements: With rapid advancements in technology like better hardware, faster internet speeds, and more efficient programming languages and frameworks like Golang, developers are able to create real-time applications that can seamlessly handle large volumes of data and provide swift responses. 
• Mobile Devices and the Internet of Things: Of all the recent high-tech trends, the increased usage of mobile devices and the Internet of Things is perhaps the most recognisable. This has led to a growing demand for applications that provide real-time data synchronisation, control, and monitoring. Notable examples include smart homes, wearables, and industrial automation devices. 
• Gaming and Entertainment: The gaming and entertainment sectors are known for creating interactive experiences and instantaneous responses for users. Companies within these industries achieve this by leveraging real-time applications, and with the popularity of gaming as strong as ever, they are likely to play a key role in the development of real-time software for years to come.
• Healthcare and Telemedicine:  It’s no secret that healthcare providers are becoming ever-more reliant on telemedicine to ensure that a larger number of patients can receive vital healthcare. Real-time applications are used for a range of purposes in the healthcare sector, including remote patient monitoring, telemedicine consultations, and real-time patient data analysis. 
• Communication Tools: The Covid-19 pandemic forced workers all over the world to work remotely, and for many, this working practice has stood the test of time. Collaboration platforms, video conferencing software, project management tools, and social media networks require real-time capabilities to facilitate seamless communication and interaction among users based in different geographic locations. 

As there is every indication that all of these trends will continue throughout the coming years, it is highly likely that there will be more innovation and development in the field of real-time applications. Golang developers are poised to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge pursuit, particularly given that Golang possesses many features that make it an optimal choice for software applications - a topic we will explore in the next section. 

Why Developers Use Golang For Real-World Application Development  

Though a relatively new language, Golang has already earned an esteemed reputation for the ease with which it facilitates the building of real-world applications. In fact, according to the Go Developer Survey 2023 Results, Golang is considered a productive language for real-time application development, with high satisfaction rates among developers, especially those with less than one year of experience.

Here are the key advantages that makes Go programming language a suitable choice for real-world application developers: 

Performance and Efficiency 

Golang stands out for its relatively high speed and efficiency, making it a preferred choice for developers looking to build high-performance real-world applications. Its exceptional performance can be attributed to numerous elements, such as its swift compilation times and minimal memory usage. Considering Golang’s efficient and highly performative nature, it’s no wonder that companies like Google, Netflix, and Dropbox rely on the language for much of their real-world application development. 

Concurrency Support 

Another one of Golang’s distinctive qualities lies in its outstanding concurrency support. Real-world applications must be able to deal with multiple requests at the same time, and as Golang makes it straightforward for developers to write concurrent code, it is understandable that so many programmers opt for Go when creating real-world software. 

Golang is able to achieve impressive levels of concurrency due to Goroutines, lightweight threads managed by the Go runtime. They are designed to allow developers to write concurrent code without the complexities associated with traditional threading. There are also channels to facilitate communication between Goroutines, thus simplifying the coordination between different parts of a program. 

Simplicity and Readability 

Many programmers praise Golang for its simplicity and readability. From beginner developers looking to expand their programming skills to experienced coders who are used to programming with Java or C++, Golang can be utilised by developers at all stages of their careers. Businesses looking to upskill their existing software development teams in a modern programming language are sure to be drawn to the user-friendliness and accessibility of Golang. 

Scalability 

Golang's scalability makes it particularly well-suited for developing real-world applications. The language is designed to handle increased workloads by adding more nodes to distribute the load, a process facilitated by its built-in scalability support. This scalability makes it suitable for building systems that need to handle a high volume of concurrent requests, such as web servers and distributed systems. These attributes make it an ideal choice for building scalable real-time applications.

Rich and Varied Standard Library 

Go comes with a comprehensive standard library that includes packages for networking, cryptography, JSON handling, and more. This standard library reduces dependencies on third-party libraries, ensuring a consistent and robust set of tools for developers.

As we can see, Golang has an array of exceptional features that make it an ideal option for developing real-time applications. If you are interested in learning about the other uses of this modern programming language, we urge you to check out our ‘How Tech Companies Use The Golang Programming Language’ guide.  

Best Practices for Developing Real-Time Applications in Golang 

Whether you choose to upskill your programming team in Golang or choose to hire new developers with expertise in the language, one thing is for sure - with Golang developers at your organisation, you’ll have the opportunity to build efficient, user-friendly, and highly performant real-time applications that your users will appreciate. 

However, before you decide to incorporate Golang into your real-time application development plan, it is crucial to gain an understanding of the techniques that your software developers will utilise when they power your real-time software. With this knowledge, your recruitment team will know what skills and competencies to look out for when it comes to recruiting top developers for your Golang jobs. 

Here are 5 of the best practices that Golang developers follow when building real-time software: 

1. Goroutines and Channels for Concurrency

Earlier, we alluded to the importance of Goroutines and Channels for Golang development. Goroutines are especially useful for creating efficient and concurrent applications, capable of handling multiple tasks concurrently and enabling asynchronous operations. Designed to communicate and share data without race conditions, Channels are routinely used in real-world applications to facilitate communication between Goroutines.

2. Graceful Shutdowns

Another technique that Golang developers typically utilise when creating real-time applications is ensuring graceful shutdowns. This process is important when handling shutdown events; by not following best practices, developers risk losing data or disrupting ongoing processes. 

There are several practices to implement graceful shutdown mechanisms effectively, from stopping Goroutines and Channels to logging shutdown events. By managing graceful shutdowns correctly, developers can build resilient applications that can deal with shutdown events without compromising data integrity. 

3. Error Handling

Employing error-handling methods is essential for creating applications in Golang. Without following the right error-handling procedures, the resilience and readability of the software may be diminished, thereby damaging user experience. To manage errors effectively, Golang developers must perform a range of crucial tasks, such as wrap errors with context, propagate errors, and test error scenarios. Properly handling errors throughout the application ensures that any potential failures will be well-managed without compromising the stability of the applications. 

4. Security Measures 

As with any piece of software, real-time applications are occasionally vulnerable to cyber threats. Golang developers must ensure that the application’s reliability and user-friendliness are not achieved at the expense of security, and there are various measures they can put into action to avoid security threats and vulnerabilities. These measures include encrypting sensitive data, following secure coding practices by avoiding hard-coded secrets, and continuously monitoring security-related events for potential threats. 

5. Optimise Performance

Throughout the application development process, developers should routinely be looking for ways to optimise performance. When building real-time applications in Go, developers can leverage Golang’s built-in tools to ensure maximum efficiency. Utilising lightweight Goroutines for concurrent execution of tasks, managing memory by using Go’s garbage collection tool, and using built-in testing frameworks to simplify running tests are all methods that developers can employ to improve performance. 

Building Real-World Applications in Golang: Key Takeaways 

The demand for real-time software applications has surged, driven by evolving user expectations and technological advancements. With its exceptional performance and unique features, Golang has become a top choice for developers in crafting high-quality real-time applications.

Real-time applications are becoming increasingly common across a range of industries due to trends such as mobile device usage, the Internet of Things, and technological advancements. Golang's performance, concurrency, and scalability strengths make it ideal for meeting these needs.

Given the numerous advantages of building real-time applications in Go, hiring Golang developers or upskilling your existing programming team in the language would be forward-thinking moves. Familiarising yourself with best practices regarding application development in Golang will give you a better grasp of what to look for when recruiting developers. 

As real-time experiences remain crucial, Golang developers are pivotal in meeting these demands by leveraging the language's strengths and best practices. They play a vital role in creating seamless, secure, and efficient real-time applications for diverse industries and evolving user expectations.

Are You Looking For Golang Developers to Power Your Business? 

As specialists in delivering innovative software recruitment solutions, we excel in placing the best and brightest developers into Golang jobs throughout the UK, Europe, and the US. With years of experience in the industry, our consultants acknowledge the significance of hiring high-calibre developers amid an ever-more competitive, candidate-led market. Whether you are recruiting for permanent roles or you require Golang developers on a short-term basis, we have the means to support you. 

Get in touch with us today to discover more about our market-leading recruitment services.