How can I learn to like Golang? (and use it a lot)

No need to like something you just don't like. I've tried Go dozens of times and gave up. I feel too limited writing it and prefer Rust and C++ for system programming.

If these are the only things to not like about Go, that is pretty good for a programming language.
Go is standardised by design. Its “limitations” is more a fact of simpler design. Working on multiple projects with many developers, Go code always looks the same. There are not many ways to be super clever and fancy which leads to easier collaboration and improved readability.

There is no way to go back to a incomplete, unsound, and generally haphazard type system like that of C++, Golang, Python, JavaScript once I have had a taste of the type system of an ML, i.e. that of Rust, OCaml, F#, or Haskell.

I like working with Go lang, for most of the stuff you have mentioned.

• Use of nil
  Coming from a background in PHP, I have dealt with code where null is misused immensely. So with go, I know that usage is limited. And I always have to depend on the default values for each type.

• GoDoc has a simplified structure.
  And it's not overly bloated. I only have to document stuff that is public from a package.

• Centralized
  This is no longer the case since we are moving away from GOPATH

• Dependency management
  node_modules is one of the worst things I have worked with, I still work with node / Typescript for work. I still don't like it. With go, I used to use dep but since deprecating GOPATH, I have moved all my projects to use go mod

It's a given that some of these things might not appeal to everyone. I guess it's going to be a common thing, based on the experience we have with different programming language ecosystems. One major thing I prefer Go is due to the standard library.

Hi Pacharapol!

I cannot set nil a variable (unless it is a pointer, but not sure if it is recommended to do so?)

Though by default variables are "zeroed", you can still do it, by using the empty interface:

var i interface{}
// the variable is empty
i = 10
// now its value is 10

Centralized ~/go/pkg/packages/github.com//

not really true anymore if you use go modules, packages will be in your project's directory. See blog.golang.org/using-go-modules

Golang maker don't like vendorizing, like what node_modules do.

go mod vendor. See github.com/golang/go/wiki/Modules#... and go help mod

Hope this helps :)

I do not think Golang is a language worth learning if it is not for work. It does not add anything new to your knowledge. This is on purpose. It has avoided many modern programming language features in exchange for fast compile times, faster new developer on boarding and simpler cross-compiling support. For expanding your horizon on how to express ideas, Haskell really is THE eye-opener.

On the other hand, if you can see past your preferences and stop worrying, Golang generally takes well care of you. Decide on a domain problem and code away. You may find lack of distracting language features actually helpful.

"go mod vendor" vendors packages.

Since go 1.11 you don't need to use the gopath.

Why would you want to nil a variable? Use the zero value... That's what it's for.

You gripes come from some misunderstandings.