GoSloppy - Go for prototypes
Alpha Software
This is a very preliminary version, distributed for the sake of being tested,
it is far from a final product. Hopefully this will change soon.
Goal
There were many
complains
about
the unsuitablility of Go (golang) for small prototype projects.
The main issue was, Go will not compile source files with unused imports or unused variables.
This project will give you a quick way to run and test your package without modifying it,
even if it contains unused variables or imports.
This is superior to the var _ = unused techinque, since you will never forget to remove
the var _ = statements. If you do - the package will simply not compile.
Quick Intro
$ go get github.com/elazarl/gosloppy
$ # make sure $GOPATH/bin is in your path
$ export PATH=$PATH:${GOPATH//://bin:}/bin
$ mkdir /tmp/pkg; cd /tmp/pkg
$ echo 'package main;import "fmt";func main(){i := 1;println("no fmt, yet compiles")}' > a.go
$ go build
./a.go:1: imported and not used: "fmt"
$ gosloppy build
$ ./pkg
no fmt, yet compiles
You can use different executable name:
$ gosloppy build -o koko
$ ./koko
no fmt, yet compiles
Tests also works:
$ echo 'package main;import "fmt"' > a_test.go
$ go test
./a.go:1: imported and not used: "fmt"
./a_test.go:1: imported and not used: "fmt"
FAIL _/tmp/pkg [build failed]
$ gosloppy test
testing: warning: no tests to run
PASS
ok _/private/tmp/pkg/__instrument.go555768202 0.019s
Just for the sake of the exposition, let's see unused variable alone.
$ rm -f *
$ echo 'package main;func main() { i := 1; println("unused, yet works") }' > a.go
$ go build
./a.go:1: i declared and not used
$ gosloppy build
$ ./pkg
unused, yet works
Fragmentation of the Go Ecosystem
Would it fragment the Go ecosystem? I think not. GoSloppy, by design, will not be able
to install a package. Only to run it temporarily in your own sandbox.
If you want to publish a library, or get it with go get, GoSloppy will refuse to help
you.
The idea is - do whatever you want in the privacy of your sandbox. When you publish your
code - make sure it conform to Go's spec.
How It Works
Birds Eye View
GoSloppy will parse your package source file, search for unused variables and packages, and insert
var _ = unused where appropriate.
GoSloppy would then write the patched file to a temporary directory prefixed with __gosloppy.go, and will
run go build there. It will never insert a \n, so errors reported will still have correct line information.
Finally, it'll copy the resulting file to your current directory.
GoSloppy will try to guess which included packages should be also compiles, and instrument them in a similar
fashion. For example, all relative imports, will also be "sloppified" and compiled when running gosloppy.