How do you create a basic test function in Go?

  • Define a function with the "test" keyword in the name.
  • Use the "func test" declaration.
  • Use the "func Test" declaration.
  • There is no specific syntax for tests.
In Go, you create a basic test function by using the "func Test" declaration. The naming convention for test functions is important; they should start with "Test" followed by a capital letter and describe the functionality being tested. For example, if you're testing a function called "Add," you would name the test function "TestAdd." The Go testing framework recognizes functions with this naming pattern and runs them as tests when you execute "go test" on your package.

A type assertion can return two values, the underlying value and a boolean that indicates whether the assertion was ___.

  • successful
  • TRUE
  • accurate
  • valid
A type assertion in Go can return two values: the first is the underlying value of the asserted type, and the second is a boolean value indicating whether the assertion was successful. The boolean value will be true if the assertion is successful, meaning the value is of the specified type; otherwise, it will be false.

A _____ is a situation where a program continuously uses more memory over time and does not release it.

  • Memory Leak
  • Memory Overflow
  • Memory Spill
  • Memory Bloat
A "Memory Leak" is a situation where a program continuously uses more memory over time and does not release it back to the operating system. Memory leaks can lead to increased memory consumption, reduced performance, and even program crashes if not addressed. Proper memory management and resource deallocation are essential to prevent memory leaks.

Discuss how you would implement authentication and authorization in a Go-based RESTful API.

  • Use Basic Authentication with API keys.
  • Implement OAuth 2.0 with JWT (JSON Web Tokens).
  • Utilize OpenID Connect for user authentication.
  • Use HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) for API security.
Implementing authentication and authorization in a Go-based RESTful API is a crucial aspect of security. Using OAuth 2.0 with JWT (JSON Web Tokens) is a common and secure approach. It allows for user authentication and authorization by issuing tokens, which are sent with each API request. OAuth 2.0 provides fine-grained control over access, and JWTs are self-contained, making them suitable for stateless APIs. This method ensures that only authenticated and authorized users can access protected resources, enhancing the security of your API.

How can the go vet tool be used to identify bugs in a Go program?

  • It performs code profiling and generates reports on memory usage.
  • It checks for syntax errors and reports them.
  • It checks for suspicious constructs, such as unreachable code and suspicious shift operations.
  • It performs static analysis to identify potential issues like improper error handling and incorrect interfaces.
The go vet tool is used to perform static analysis on Go code. It can identify potential issues in the code that might not be caught by the Go compiler. For example, it can detect improper error handling, incorrect use of interfaces, and more. It doesn't perform code profiling or report memory usage; that's the role of other tools like go tool pprof or go test -bench. Syntax errors are typically caught by the Go compiler itself. go vet focuses on identifying problematic code patterns and constructs.

How can you propagate errors in Go?

  • Using panic()
  • Using return statements with error values
  • Using recover()
  • Using try-catch blocks
In Go, errors are typically propagated using return statements. Functions that can potentially produce errors return an error value alongside their result. This error value is typically nil if no error occurred and contains an error message otherwise. This allows the caller of the function to check the error value and take appropriate action, such as logging the error or handling it in some way. Using panic() is not the standard way to handle errors; it's used for exceptional cases that should cause the program to terminate. The recover() function is used to handle panics, but it's not the primary mechanism for propagating errors.

How can you extract query parameters from the URL in a Go HTTP handler?

  • By using the http.Query() function.
  • By accessing r.URL.Query() in the request object.
  • By parsing the request body.
  • By defining custom route parameters in the handler struct.
To extract query parameters from the URL in a Go HTTP handler, you can access the r.URL.Query() method on the http.Request object, where r is the request parameter typically provided to the ServeHTTP method. This method returns a map of query parameters, allowing you to retrieve and use the values as needed in your handler logic.

You are building a large-scale application in Go. How would you design a robust error handling strategy to ensure maintainability and ease of debugging?

  • Use structured error types with context information and stack traces.
  • Ignore errors to minimize code complexity.
  • Use generic error messages to avoid confusion.
  • Use panic for all errors for immediate termination.
To design a robust error handling strategy in Go, it's essential to use structured error types that provide context information and, if possible, stack traces. This ensures that when an error occurs, you have detailed information about where it happened and why. Ignoring errors or using generic messages can lead to poor maintainability and debugging challenges. panic should only be used in critical situations, and generally, it's better to return errors and handle them gracefully in the application.

Describe a scenario where you would prefer to use Protocol Buffers over JSON for data serialization in a Go application.

  • When you need human-readable data.
  • When you need self-descriptive data.
  • When you require high performance and efficiency.
  • When you need compatibility with web APIs.
Protocol Buffers (protobuf) are preferred over JSON when high performance and efficiency are crucial. For example, in scenarios where you need to serialize and deserialize large volumes of data frequently, such as in high-throughput microservices or data streaming applications. Protocol Buffers use a binary encoding format, which is more compact and faster to serialize/deserialize compared to the text-based format of JSON. While JSON is human-readable, protobuf excels in terms of speed and size, making it ideal for scenarios where performance is a top priority.

Imagine you are building a RESTful API using Go. How would you structure the routing to handle different resource types and actions?

  • Use a single routing tree with different HTTP methods and path patterns.
  • Use multiple routing trees for each resource type and action.
  • Use a routing tree with a single wildcard route for all resource types and actions.
  • Use a separate routing package to handle resource type and action routing.
When building a RESTful API in Go, it's common to use a single routing tree with different HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and path patterns (/users, /products, etc.) to handle different resource types and actions. Each route definition should specify the HTTP method and path, making it clear which resource and action the route handles. This approach is clean, maintainable, and aligns with RESTful conventions.