Learning Go: An Idiomatic Approach to Programming with Jon Bodner

Jon shared his journey into Go development, insights into writing a programming book, and the unique characteristics that make Go a standout language in the modern software landscape.

From Java to Go: A Paradigm Shift

Jon started his programming career in Java, back in the days when Java 1.0 had just been released. Over time, however, he became frustrated with the growing complexity and indirection in Java programming — especially with frameworks like Spring that relied heavily on annotations and implicit behaviors. He described scenarios where dependencies would fail unpredictably due to implicit auto-wiring, causing runtime errors that were difficult to debug.

When Jon saw Go’s initial demo in 2010, its simplicity and Unix-inspired philosophy resonated with him. “Java didn’t leave me. I left Java,” he quipped, highlighting how Go’s directness aligned with his programming mindset. The minimalism of Go felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the abstraction-heavy patterns of Java.

Writing Learning Go

Jon’s book, Learning Go, published by O’Reilly in 2021, targets experienced developers who are new to Go. The second edition, which came in January 2024, incorporates feedback, exercises, and…