All tagged Go

Writing a Go fuzz target

Let’s continue our exploration of fuzz testing in Go with a look at how to write a fuzz target for a (nearly) realistic function. This time we’ll try to detect a common kind of bug involving a confusion between runes and bytes.

Fuzz tests in Go

Fuzz testing is Go’s clever way of generating new test inputs that you didn’t think of—and that may flush out some hidden bugs. Stand by for things to get a little fuzzy!

The Tao of Go

What is the Tao of Go, and how can we work with it, like a surfer going with the waves instead of struggling against them? By being kind, simple, humble, and not striving; here’s how.

Random testing in Go

Choosing good test cases for our Go programs can be a bit hit-and-miss. What if we could automate that process? Let’s talk about randomisation, property-based testing, and Go’s built-in fuzz testing feature.

The adapter pattern in Go

How do you test a database without a database? Don't worry, this isn't one of those Zen puzzles. I have something more practical, but equally enlightening, in mind. Let’s use the adapter pattern to solve the riddle.

Error wrapping in Go

Distinguishing between specific error values and types is easy in Go, thanks to the (relatively) new errors.Is and errors.As functions. Let’s talk about what they do, when and how to use them, and how to know which one is appropriate.

Standalone test scripts

Wouldn't it be nice if we could run test scripts directly from the command line? The standalone testscript tool does exactly that. Let’s see how to use it to create simple, self-contained issue repros.

Comparing Go error values

Usually what matters about an error is that it’s not nil, but what if we want to know whether it’s some specific error value? For example, in a test? Let’s look at some of the right and wrong ways to do that.

Testing errors in Go

How should we test errors in Go? And how does the need for this testing influence the way we construct, handle, and pass around errors within our Golang programs?

An API client in Go

The internet is very big, and a vast ocean of network resources lies undiscovered before us. Let's dip a hook into that ocean now and see what we can catch with an API client in Go.

Scripting with Go

The Unix shell is pure wizardry. Why shouldn’t it be as easy to write systems programs in Go as it is in the shell? The script library is the secret spell-book that makes this possible.