Database with Go - Golang (Because Your App Needs to Remember Things!)

Golang

""Learning Golang is like learning to cook with a simple recipe but yielding maximum results—with clean syntax, fast performance, and multitasking capabilities through goroutines that make you feel like a master chef, handling multiple tasks at once without a hitch!""

So, you’ve built a Go web app, but where do you store all the data? In a database, of course! Whether you’re tracking users, storing orders, or just hoarding cat memes, a database is essential.

Why Use a Database in Go?

Databases let you:

• Store and retrieve data efficiently (No more hardcoded data!)
• Scale your app (So it can handle millions of users… or at least your mom and best friend!)
• Perform complex queries (Finding stuff is easier!)

Go provides excellent support for working with databases through database/sql and various database drivers.

Choosing a Database

Go supports many databases, including:

• PostgreSQL (Fast, reliable, developer-friendly)
• MySQL (Popular, easy to use, widely supported)
• SQLite (Lightweight, great for small apps)
• MongoDB (NoSQL, perfect for flexible data)

For this guide, we’ll use PostgreSQL as an example.

Installing PostgreSQL Driver

First, install the Go PostgreSQL driver:

go get github.com/lib/pq

Then, import it in your code:

import (
    "database/sql"
    _ "github.com/lib/pq"
)

Connecting to the Database

Let’s connect our Go app to PostgreSQL.

const dbConnection = "user=postgres password=yourpassword dbname=mydb sslmode=disable"

db, err := sql.Open("postgres", dbConnection)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer db.Close()

Now, your app can talk to the database!

Creating a Table

Let’s create a simple users table.

_, err = db.Exec(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name TEXT,
    email TEXT UNIQUE
)`) 
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

Boom! You now have a users table!

Inserting Data

Let’s add a user.

_, err = db.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ($1, $2)", "Alice", "alice@example.com")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}

Now Alice is in the database!

Querying Data

Want to get users? Here’s how:

rows, err := db.Query("SELECT id, name, email FROM users")
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal(err)
}
defer rows.Close()

for rows.Next() {
    var id int
    var name, email string
    rows.Scan(&id, &name, &email)
    fmt.Println(id, name, email)
}

Now your app can fetch data like a pro! 

Databases make your Go app more powerful, scalable, and useful. Now go build something awesome and store all the data!