Using the "go version" Command (with examples)
The “go version” command is a simple and useful command that allows you to print the version of Go installed on your system. It can be used in two different ways: to print the Go version directly or to print the Go version used to build a specific executable file.
1: Print Go version
To print the Go version, you can simply use the following command:
go version
Motivation: You might want to use this command to quickly check the version of Go installed on your system. This can be useful when you need to verify compatibility with a specific version or to troubleshoot any issues that may be version-specific.
Explanation: The “go version” command does not require any arguments. When you run this command, it will display the Go version information, including the version number, commit hash, and build date.
Example Output:
go version go1.17.2 darwin/amd64
In this example output, “go1.17.2” represents the Go version installed on the system, and “darwin/amd64” represents the platform and architecture.
2: Print the Go version used to build a named executable file
If you want to know the Go version used to build a specific executable file, you can use the “go version” command with the path to the executable as an argument. For example:
go version path/to/executable
Motivation: This use case can be helpful when you are working with multiple Go projects or binaries and need to ensure that they are built with a specific version of Go. By using the “go version” command with the path to the executable, you can quickly determine the Go version used for building it.
Explanation: The second use case of the “go version” command accepts an argument that specifies the path to the executable file you want to check. When you run this command with the executable path, it will display the Go version information used to build that executable, including the version number, commit hash, and build date.
Example Output:
go version go1.16 darwin/amd64
In this example, “go1.16” represents the Go version used to build the executable file located at “path/to/executable”, and “darwin/amd64” represents the platform and architecture.
By utilizing the “go version” command in these different use cases, you can easily retrieve the Go version installed on your system or determine the Go version used for building a specific executable file. This can be beneficial for ensuring compatibility, troubleshooting version-specific issues, and managing multiple Go projects.
