Head First Go

Chapter 15. responding to requests: Web Apps

This is the 21st century. Users want web apps. Go’s got you covered there, too! The Go standard library includes packages to help you host your own web applications and make them accessible from any web browser. So we’re going to spend the final two chapters of the book showing you how to build web apps.

The first thing your web app needs is the ability to respond when a browser sends it a request. In this chapter, we’ll learn to use the net/http package to do just that.

Writing web apps in Go

An app that runs in your terminal is great—for your own use. But ordinary users have been spoiled by the internet and the World Wide Web. They don’t want to learn to use a terminal so they can use your app. They don’t even want to install your app. They want it to be ready to use the moment they click a link in their browser.

But don’t worry! Go can help you write apps for the web, too.

We won’t lead you on—writing a web app is not a small task. This is going to require all of the skills you’ve learned so far, plus a few new ones. But Go has some excellent packages available that will make the process easier!

This includes the net/http package. HTTP stands for “HyperText Transfer Protocol,” and it’s used for communication by web browsers ...