IBM is hoping that Google’s GO, an open source programming language which makes it easier to build software, will expand its open source ecosystem for IBM’s mainframe platform.
Currently, Go is being used by many projects, such as Docker and Kubernates. Often called golang, Go Language was designed by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson in November 2009 at Google. "We ported Go to z Systems as part of our overall effort to expand the platform's open source ecosystem. We continue to look for ways to provide developers new options for taking advantage of the mainframe," Marcel Mitran, Distinguished Engineer and CTO for IBM LinuxOne said for JavaWorld. Mitran added that Big Blue is still evaluating a few specific benefits related to Go.
Primarily designed for systems programming, Go language is making it easier to build simple and efficient software for many companies worldwide. Currently the open source programming language has landed another project: a port to IBM’s z Systems mainframe platform. Both companies expect to grow and develop more by collaborating with each-other. IBM expects that by working with Go language, its z Systems will become easier to combine with other software tools by its developers, while Go language in return wants to continue grow its community with numerous important projects.
Mitran said that by working with Go community, IMB will be able to benefit its company’s developers by easily combining z System and LinuxOne’s speed, security, and scale with software tools they are already familiar with. “Collaborating with this community will enable us to introduce new technologies to the platforms that are based on Go in the future,” Mitran added.
Go’s Goland first conference edition was held in August 21, 2015 in the UK. The conference, which was opened by David calavera’s keynote, featured two parallel tracks (one main tract and one side track), and was attended by approximately 400 gophers. The main track included Stupid Gopher Tricks by Andrew Gerrand, Complex Concurrency Patterns in Go by Evan Huus, Code Analysis by Francesc Campoy, Go kit: a toolkit for microservices by Peter Bourgon, and Dependency Management Conundrum by William Kennedy. Wile the parallel side track features keynotes by Mat yer, Matt Heath, Ben Darnell, etc.
According to JavaWorld, “the Go port was completed in late 2015. It represents a continued effort by IBM to make its mainframes more contemporary; it introduced Linux-only LinuxOne mainframes last summer. IBM's GitHub for z Systems list also includes efforts involving Apache Cassandra and Spark as well as Kubernetes.”
Since Google’s Go was first launched, the community of the open source programming language is continuing to grow. According to Go Blog, until now, the Go language has received hundreds of contributions from all around the globe. “More than 780 contributors have made over 30,000 commits to the project's 22 repositories. The ecosystem continues to grow, with GitHub reporting more than 90,000 Go repositories. And, offline, we see new Go events and user groups pop up around the world with regularity.”
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