How to use this eBook

With the help of this book, you should:

• Go through each exercise.
• Type in each sample exactly.
• Make it run.

If you go through this book, and do each exercise for one or two hours a night, you will have a good foundation for moving onto another book about Go to continue your studies. This book won’t turn you into a Go expert overnight, but it will get you started on the path to learning how to code in Go.

Remember:

• Typing the code samples and getting them to run will help you learn the names of the symbols, get familiar with typing them, and get you reading the language.
• You must pay attention to the tiniest details of your work or you will miss important elements of what you create. By going through this book, and copying each example exactly, you will be training your brain to focus on the details of what you are doing, as you are doing it.
• While you do these exercises, typing each one in, you will be making mistakes. It’s inevitable; even seasoned programmers would make a few. Your job is to compare what you have written to what’s required, and fix all the differences. By doing so, you will train yourself to notice mistakes, bugs, and other problems.
• You must type each of these exercises in, manually. If you copy and paste, you might as well not even do them. The point of these exercises is to train your hands, your brain, and your mind in how to read, write, and see code. If you copy-paste, you are cheating yourself out of the effectiveness of the lessons.

I know that to get good at anything you have to practice every day, even if it’s difficult. Keep trying and eventually it’ll be easier and fun.

If you break the problem down into small exercises and lessons, and do them every day, you can learn to do almost anything. If you focus on slowly improving and enjoying the learning process, then you will benefit no matter how good you are at it.

Remember whatever your reason for wanting to quit, don’t. Victor Goff and I are available on the slack channel¹ to help you in the learning process.