Accessing JavaScript from Go Controller

Hey! If you love Go and building Go apps as much as I do, let's connect on Twitter or LinkedIn. I talk about this stuff all the time!

Want to learn how to build better Go applications faster and easier? You can.

Check out my course on the Go Standard Library. You can check it out now for free.


Learn how to access JavaScript from a Go controller and render dynamic content on your website.



Introduction

In this article, we will explore how to access JavaScript from a Go (formerly known as Golang) controller. This is useful for creating dynamic web applications that can interact with the user in real-time. We will cover the basics of JavaScript and its integration into a Go application.

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a programming language that is widely used in web development to create interactive and dynamic web pages. It is commonly used for front-end development, which means it is executed on the client-side (i.e., the user’s browser) of a website. JavaScript allows developers to create animations, handle events, manipulate the Document Object Model (DOM), and more.

Accessing JavaScript from Go Controller

To access JavaScript from a Go controller, you will need to use a JavaScript engine. There are several options available, including:

  1. GopherJS - GopherJS is an implementation of the JavaScript language for the Go programming language. It provides a way to execute JavaScript code within a Go program and interact with it.
  2. otto - Otto is another implementation of JavaScript for Go that allows you to run JavaScript in a web browser or other runtime environments from your Go application.
  3. go-js - go-js is a lightweight library for running JavaScript in Go. It provides a way to execute JavaScript code within a Go program and interact with it.

Using GopherJS

GopherJS is the most popular JavaScript engine for Go. To get started, you will need to install it using your package manager or by downloading the source code from GitHub. Once installed, you can use it in your Go application like this:

package main

import (
	"github.com/gopherjs/gopherjs"
)

func main() {
	// Create a new JavaScript engine
	engine := gopherjs.NewEngine()

	// Execute some JavaScript code
	engine.Exec("console.log('Hello from JavaScript!');")
}

This will output “Hello from JavaScript!” to the console.

Using otto

Otto is another popular JavaScript engine for Go that provides a similar API to GopherJS. To use Otto, you will need to install it using your package manager or by downloading the source code from GitHub. Once installed, you can use it in your Go application like this:

package main

import (
	"github.com/robertkrimen/otto"
)

func main() {
	// Create a new JavaScript runtime environment
	runtime := otto.NewRuntime()

	// Execute some JavaScript code
	runtime.Run(`console.log('Hello from JavaScript!');`)
}

This will output “Hello from JavaScript!” to the console.

Using go-js

go-js is a lightweight library for running JavaScript in Go that provides a simple API for executing JavaScript code and interacting with it. To use go-js, you will need to install it using your package manager or by downloading the source code from GitHub. Once installed, you can use it in your Go application like this:

package main

import (
	"github.com/santu1983/go-js"
)

func main() {
	// Create a new JavaScript runtime environment
	runtime := gojs.NewRuntime()

	// Execute some JavaScript code
	runtime.Run(`console.log('Hello from JavaScript!');`)
}

This will output “Hello from JavaScript!” to the console.

Conclusion

Accessing JavaScript from a Go controller is a powerful feature that allows you to create dynamic web applications with real-time interaction. There are several options available, including GopherJS, otto, and go-js. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your needs.

We hope this article has provided a good introduction to accessing JavaScript from Go controller. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know in the comment section below!


Questions or comments? Reach out to me


Learn how to leverage the Go Standard Library like a PRO.

I just created a new course, The Go Standard Library, check it out!