JetBrains has moved its Go IDE from its early access programme to market. Now branded as GoLand, the IDE extends the IntelliJ platform making its core functionality specific to Go. This follows suit with their other language-specific tools such as PyCharm for Python and RubyMine for Ruby.
JetBrains describes some of GoLands key features as:
- Coding assistance: By analyzing source code, it provides features such as code completion, navigation, refactoring and formatting, all specific to Go
- Code editor: Syntax highlighting and parameter hints are provided in order to make code easier to read and understand
- Ergonomic design: The interface has been designed to be as straightforward and productive as possible
- Front and back-end development: First class support for front-end languages and frameworks, and tools for accessing and querying databases
- Integrated tools: Commonly required tools such as debuggers, version control integration and test runners come baked in and do not need to be installed as plugins
- Plugin ecosystem: JetBrains existing plugin ecosystem is available, opening up many additional tools and features
Developers already familiar with IntelliJ will be accustomed to inspections that spot errors in code on the fly. These can often be resolved quickly by pressing "alt + enter", saving the time that it would take to fix manually. Now specific to Go, it can generate referenced fields and functions which do not exist, find unused variables, invalid constant assignments and more.
The included debugging tool is also similar to those in the existing JetBrains tool suites. Developers will now be able to step through code, add breakpoints, evaluate expressions, add watches and more. This brings a modernization to those more familiar with weaker debugging workflows.
JetBrains plans on expanding and enhancing this feature set on a regular basis, following the release cycle typical to all of their tools: major version updates will happen quarterly, with minor and patch releases happening even more frequently.
GoLand follows the standard JetBrains licensing model, with an initial 30-day free trial followed by either monthly or annual subscriptions, available for both individuals and companies. For users of IntelliJ ultimate edition, it’s functionality can be installed as a plugin.
It is available for download on the official site.