5 Golang Syntax Features I Wish Existed As A JavaScript Developer

Introduction

As a JavaScript developer who has recently started dabbling with Golang, there have been times where I have found myself wishing that Golang had some of the syntax features I was used to in JavaScript. While Golang is a powerful language in its own right, here are exactly five syntax features I wish existed in Golang to make the transition smoother and life easiler.

Null Coalescing Operator

In JavaScript, the null coalescing operator (??) is a handy feature that allows developers to provide a default value for null or undefined variables. This operator is a lifesaver when working with potentially null or undefined values, and it ensures that your code doesn’t break. Unfortunately, Golang does not have this operator. Instead, we have to write additional code to handle these potential null cases.

In JavaScript:

let undefinedVariable;
let myValue = undefinedVariable ?? 'default value';
console.log(myValue);  // Outputs: 'default value'

In Golang, we would need to handle the null case explicitly:

var nilVariable *string
var myValue string
if nilVariable != nil {
    myValue = *nilVariable
} else {
    myValue = "default value"
}
fmt.Println(myValue)…