Why Did Go Initially Lack Generics, and Why Was This Decision Made?

Understanding the Absence of Generics in Go

Go is a programming language that emphasizes simplicity and efficiency. One notable feature it lacks is support for generics, which allows programmers to create custom data types that can operate on a range of different values.

While generics are a common concept in many languages, their absence in Go has sparked questions. Why did the Go creators opt for this design choice?

According to the official Go FAQ, the decision was made out of concerns about complexity. Generics can introduce significant complexity to a language's type system and runtime. The Go team believes that this added complexity should only be introduced if it provides a clear value to developers.

They argue that Go's built-in maps and slices, along with the ability to use the empty interface to create containers, allow programmers to achieve many of the same goals as generics, albeit in a less convenient way.

The Go team acknowledges that generics could be valuable in the future, but they believe that the benefits currently do not outweigh the potential drawbacks. They continue to explore potential designs for generics and will add them to the language when they find a suitable solution.

Note: It's important to note that generics have been added to Go in version 1.18, addressing the concerns expressed in the original FAQ entry.

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