gofmt

If you want to enforce style conventions, either make them mandatory at the language level or write gofmt.

In the language itself, fmt (something completely different from gofmt) is used as a package identifier.

Fortunately, you can have it your way by using gofmt to show you format.

In the Go language the tool gofmt formats the source code to certain standards.

I think using this and gofmt (again from the command line) makes developing in Go very smooth.

If you use the gofmt style, you won't notice this breaking change.

:):) > there's one established way to lay out your Go code and that's to use gofmt.

Really, all I need is gofmt on save, and even that is mostly because I've gotten so used to it that I drop ugly unformatted dreck into my editor and let gofmt clean it up.

I haven't heard a single developer complain about gofmt, developers seem to appreciate that it takes away the bikeshedding over style, there's one established way to lay out your Go code and that's to use gofmt.

I really don't get the amount of love for gofmt.

The culture of Go is one which allows for gofmt to define one true style and refuse to deviate, just as it allows the language designers to refrain from adding generics.

Go's large - but not comprehensive - collection of features beginning with `g' includes gofmt, and I've no doubt Java IDEs will do this sort of thing for you too.

As for the command name, there's always "ln -s ~/bin/gofmt ~/bin/goformat" or "alias goformat gofmt".

In many cases you type something like "gofmt -w filename.go", press Enter, and then it's gone, never to be read.

And in what way do people need to read "gofmt"?

Use one format to rule them all, as with "gofmt".