In a RESTful API, the GET HTTP method is used to read a specific resource. This is a safe and idempotent operation, meaning it should not modify the resource and can be called multiple times without changing the resource's state. When a client sends a GET request to a resource's URL, the server responds with the representation of that resource, typically in the form of JSON or XML data.

Protocol Buffers, also known as protobuf, are a method for serializing structured data in a compact, efficient, and language-agnostic way. Its primary purpose is efficient data serialization and deserialization, making it suitable for use cases like network communication, data storage, and data interchange between different systems and languages. Protocol Buffers are not specifically designed for data compression or encryption but rather for defining a schema and serializing data in a way that allows for efficient storage and transmission.

In Go, a package is a collection of Go source files in the same directory that are used to organize code, whereas a module is a versioned collection of related Go packages with a go.mod file specifying dependencies.

In a high-traffic web application, optimizing routing is crucial for efficient request handling. Implementing caching of route matching results can significantly reduce lookup times. By storing the results of route matching in memory, subsequent requests can be quickly routed without repeatedly traversing the routing tree. This reduces CPU usage and improves response times. Using wildcard routes or a monolithic routing handler can lead to increased complexity and reduced performance, making them less suitable for high-traffic scenarios. Routing tracing, while useful for debugging, can introduce unnecessary overhead in production environments.

When designing the URI scheme of a RESTful API, using descriptive resource names is a best practice. It makes the API more intuitive and understandable for clients. Including sensitive data in URIs is generally a security risk and should be avoided. Instead, sensitive data should be sent in the request body or headers. Using query parameters for filtering and sorting is a common practice as it keeps the URIs cleaner and allows clients to specify their filtering criteria. Avoiding hierarchical URIs is not a general best practice, as hierarchical structures can be useful in representing relationships between resources.

The command to download and install the dependencies of a Go module is go get. When you run go get, it reads the dependencies from the go.mod file of the current module and downloads them into your project's GOPATH. This command also updates the go.sum file to ensure the security and integrity of the downloaded packages. It's a common practice to use go get to fetch and manage dependencies in Go projects.

In Go, the json.Unmarshal method from the encoding/json package is used to decode a JSON document into a struct. This method takes the JSON data as input and unmarshals it into a Go struct, effectively mapping the JSON fields to struct fields. This is a fundamental operation when working with JSON data in Go, allowing you to work with structured data easily.

In Go, a benchmark function's name must begin with "Benchmark_". This naming convention is essential for the Go testing framework to recognize and execute the benchmark functions correctly. By following this convention, you ensure that your benchmark functions are automatically discovered and included when running Go's testing and benchmarking tools.

The usual way to handle an error returned by a function in Go is to check the error value and take appropriate action based on the error. This can include logging the error, returning it to the caller, or performing some other error-specific behavior. Ignoring the error is generally discouraged as it can lead to unexpected behavior in the program. The use of panic and recover is reserved for exceptional cases and should not be the primary mechanism for error handling in Go.

Go handles memory management differently from languages like C or C++ by utilizing a garbage collector. The garbage collector automatically identifies and reclaims memory that is no longer in use, relieving developers from the manual memory management burdens seen in C or C++. This approach helps prevent common memory-related errors such as buffer overflows and memory leaks. It improves developer productivity and code safety.