# Go Basics, Part 1 — Syntax, Types, and Control Flow

This is the first of three "Go Basics" lessons. If you've never written Go
before, do all three before starting Lesson 1 of the main course. If you
already know another programming language (Python, JavaScript, PHP, Java,
C, etc.), you'll move through this fast — Go is a small, simple language
on purpose.

## 1. Installing Go and running your first program

Download and install Go from [go.dev/dl](https://go.dev/dl/). Confirm it worked:

```bash
go version
```

You should see something like `go version go1.26.x`.

Make a folder and your first program:

```bash
mkdir hello && cd hello
go mod init hello
```

`go mod init hello` creates a `go.mod` file — this marks the folder as a
**Go module** (a self-contained project with its own dependencies). We'll
explain modules properly in Part 3; for now, just know every Go project
needs one.

**`main.go`**
```go
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	fmt.Println("hello, world")
}
```

Run it:
```bash
go run .
```

You should see `hello, world` printed. Let's break down every single piece
of that file, since you'll type this pattern constantly:

- `package main` — every Go file starts by declaring which **package** it
  belongs to. A package is just a folder of `.go` files that are compiled
  together and can freely call each other's code. `package main` is
  special: it means "this produces a runnable program," not a reusable
  library.
- `import "fmt"` — pulls in the standard library's `fmt` package (short
  for "format"), which has functions for printing text and formatting
  strings.
- `func main()` — the function named `main`, inside `package main`, is the
  **entry point**. When you run the compiled program, execution starts
  here. There must be exactly one `main` function in `package main`.
- `fmt.Println("hello, world")` — calls the `Println` function from the
  `fmt` package (note the dot: `package.Function`), passing it the string
  `"hello, world"`. `Println` prints its arguments followed by a newline.

Two ways to run Go code:
- `go run .` (or `go run main.go`) — compiles and runs immediately,
  doesn't leave a binary behind. Good for development.
- `go build .` — compiles into an actual executable file (e.g. `hello` or
  `hello.exe`) that you can run directly (`./hello`) without Go installed
  on the machine that runs it. This is what you'd do to ship the program.

## 2. Variables and basic types

Go is **statically typed**: every variable has a fixed type, decided
either explicitly or by inference, and that type never changes.

```go
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
	// Explicit type
	var age int = 30

	// Type inferred from the value (int, since 30 has no decimal point)
	var name = "Hamid"

	// The short declaration operator ":=" — declares AND assigns in one
	// step, inferring the type. This is by far the most common way to
	// declare variables inside a function body.
	city := "Tehran"
	height := 1.78 // inferred as float64

	fmt.Println(age, name, city, height)

	// Reassignment - no "var" or ":=" needed, the variable already exists
	age = 31
	fmt.Println(age)

	// Multiple variables at once
	var x, y int = 1, 2
	a, b := 3, 4
	fmt.Println(x, y, a, b)
}
```

Key rules:
- `:=` can ONLY be used to declare a **new** variable (usually inside a
  function). It's shorthand for `var x = value` with the type inferred.
- `var` can be used with or without an initial value: `var count int`
  declares `count` as an `int` with the **zero value** `0` (Go always
  initializes variables — there's no "undefined" or garbage value).
- You cannot declare a variable and never use it — Go's compiler will
  refuse to build code with an unused local variable. This trips up
  everyone coming from other languages at first.

### The built-in types you'll use constantly

| Type | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `int` | `42` | Platform-dependent size (64-bit on modern machines); use this by default for whole numbers |
| `string` | `"hello"` | UTF-8 text, immutable |
| `bool` | `true`, `false` | |
| `float64` | `3.14` | Default type for decimal numbers |
| `byte` | | Alias for `uint8`, used for raw binary data |
| `[]byte` | | A "slice of bytes" — how Go represents raw binary data (we cast strings to this constantly, e.g. for password hashing) |

Zero values (what a variable holds if declared without an initial value):
`int` → `0`, `string` → `""` (empty string), `bool` → `false`, pointers →
`nil` (explained in Part 2).

### Type conversion

Go **never** silently converts between types (unlike JavaScript or PHP).
You must convert explicitly:

```go
var i int = 42
var f float64 = float64(i) // must explicitly convert int -> float64
var s string = fmt.Sprintf("%d", i) // int -> string via formatting

id := "123"
// s, err := strconv.Atoi(id) // string -> int, using the strconv package
```

You'll see this constantly in the main course, e.g. `int(id)` when
converting a database's `int64` auto-increment ID into our own `int`
field.

## 3. `if`, `for`, and `switch`

Go has exactly one looping construct — `for` — no `while`, no `do-while`.
It also does **not** use parentheses around conditions, but curly braces
`{ }` are always required (even for a single-line body).

### `if`

```go
age := 20

if age >= 18 {
	fmt.Println("adult")
} else if age >= 13 {
	fmt.Println("teenager")
} else {
	fmt.Println("child")
}
```

A very common Go idiom: declaring a variable that's scoped ONLY to the
`if`/`else` block, often used with error handling (you'll see this
constantly starting in Part 2):

```go
if err := doSomething(); err != nil {
	fmt.Println("failed:", err)
}
// err doesn't exist out here — it was scoped to the if statement
```

### `for` — Go's only loop

```go
// Classic three-part loop (like C's for)
for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
	fmt.Println(i)
}

// "while" style - just the condition
count := 0
for count < 3 {
	fmt.Println("counting:", count)
	count++
}

// Infinite loop - break out manually
for {
	fmt.Println("runs forever until break")
	break
}

// Looping over a collection (slices, maps - covered in Part 3)
names := []string{"alice", "bob", "carol"}
for index, name := range names {
	fmt.Println(index, name)
}
// If you don't need the index, use _ (the "blank identifier") to
// explicitly discard it - Go's compiler complains about unused
// variables, and _ is the escape hatch:
for _, name := range names {
	fmt.Println(name)
}
```

You'll see `_` constantly throughout the main course — any time a
function returns something you genuinely don't need, `_` discards it
without triggering an "unused variable" error.

### `switch`

```go
day := "Monday"

switch day {
case "Saturday", "Sunday":
	fmt.Println("weekend")
default:
	fmt.Println("weekday")
}
```

Unlike C/Java, Go's `switch` cases do **not** fall through by default —
each case automatically breaks after its block, no `break` statement
needed.

## 4. Strings, formatting, and comments

```go
name := "Hamid"
age := 31

// Println - space-separated, newline at the end
fmt.Println("name:", name, "age:", age)

// Printf - C-style format string, YOU add the newline with \n
fmt.Printf("name: %s, age: %d\n", name, age)

// Sprintf - same as Printf but returns a string instead of printing it
message := fmt.Sprintf("hello %s, you are %d years old", name, age)
fmt.Println(message)
```

Common format verbs you'll use throughout the course:
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `%s` | string |
| `%d` | integer |
| `%f` | float |
| `%v` | "default" representation of any value — great for debugging |
| `%+v` | like `%v` but includes struct field names |
| `%w` | wraps an error (covered in Part 3) — only valid with `fmt.Errorf` |

Comments:
```go
// A single-line comment

/*
A multi-line comment.
*/

// A comment directly above a function/type, with no blank line between,
// is a DOC comment - tools display it as that function's documentation.
// This project's code uses these constantly.
func DoSomething() {}
```

## 5. Try it yourself

Before moving to Part 2, write a small standalone program (new folder,
`go mod init practice`, `main.go`) that:

1. Declares a `string` name and an `int` age using `:=`.
2. Uses `if`/`else if`/`else` to print a different message depending on
   the age (e.g. "minor", "adult", "senior" for under 18 / under 65 / 65+).
3. Uses a `for` loop to print the numbers 1 through 10.
4. Uses `fmt.Printf` to print the name and age formatted into one sentence.

Run it with `go run .`. Once this feels natural, move to Part 2 —
functions, structs, and pointers, which is where Go starts looking like
the code you'll write in the actual course.