Google's Go: A New Programming Language That's Python Meets C++

Big news for developers out there: Google has just announced the release of a new, open sourced programming language called Go. The company says that Go is experimental, and that it combines the performance and security benefits associated with using a compiled language like C++ with the speed of a dynamic language like Python. Go's official mascot is Gordon the gopher, seen here.

Here's how Google describes Go in its blog post:
Go attempts to combine the development speed of working in a dynamic language like Python with the performance and safety of a compiled language like C or C++. In our experiments with Go to date, typical builds feel instantaneous; even large binaries compile in just a few seconds. And the compiled code runs close to the speed of C. Go is designed to let you move fast.We're hoping Go turns out to be a great language for systems programming with support for multi-processing and a fresh and lightweight take on object-oriented design, with some cool features like true closures and reflection. 


For more details check out Golang.org. 


To get things started the right way, here's Go's rendition of Hello World!

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
  fmt.Printf("Hello, World\n")

}