Thread by @mvdan_

Here's a list of some changes to look forward to in #golang 1.18! The first beta should be out in a month, and the final release in three months.

Each change with a link, so you can read more.

Of course, generics, also known as type parameters! Work started about two years ago, and the language changes are finally landing.

Full details here: go.googlesource.com/proposal/+/ref…

Only overshadowed by generics is native support for fuzzing! @dvyukov led the way with go-fuzz for many years, and @katie_hockman with @jayconrod brought native support for "go test".

go.dev/blog/fuzz-beta

Module workspaces are a significant addition by @matloob, making it easier to develop multiple modules locally at once. Until now, this required adding temporary replace directives.

github.com/golang/go/issu…

The build process is also getting many quality of life improvements. By default, binaries get stamped with VCS information, such as git's current tag or HEAD commit!

github.com/golang/go/issu…

Binaries also include build parameter details by default, such as what build tags or compiler/linker flags were used, or whether cgo was enabled.

You can now read all this info without having to use "go version -m", via the new debug/buildinfo package!

github.com/golang/go/issu…

"go mod download" is now more conservative, downloading fewer modules into the cache. For instance, indirect dependencies not actually needed for the build are now omitted by default.

github.com/golang/go/issu…

The GC is getting a pacer redesign by @mknyswe - the pacer being what decides when a new GC cycle should run.

Hard to summarize in a tweet, but it looks like a worthwhile incremental change. Lots of detail in the full proposal text.

github.com/golang/go/issu…

The toolchain now supports optimizing for newer x86-64 machines via GOAMD64!

You should consider the portability tradeoff for this knob. But if you target x86-64-v3 machines like servers, you could see single-digit-percent perf improvements.

github.com/golang/go/issu…

Binary sizes, you said? @commaok at @Tailscale has been busy this cycle, and it seems like binaries could get a few percent smaller!

go-review.googlesource.com/c/go/+/352110
go-review.googlesource.com/c/go/+/352191
go-review.googlesource.com/c/go/+/351463

Speaking of Tailscale, @bradfitz brought the new net/netip!

Its newer design brings many quality of life improvements, and also fewer allocs.

github.com/golang/go/issu…

And, on the topic of quality of life improvements, we're getting strings.Cut to simplify most uses of strings.Split!

github.com/golang/go/issu…

Finally, one change I've been working towards for a while is parallelizing gofmt. On my laptop, formatting a large project is now over three times faster!

github.com/golang/go/issu…

These are my personal picks - what are yours? #golang, did I miss anything particularly exciting?