Using go fix to modernize Go code

Go's go fix command, completely rewritten in Go 1.26, empowers developers to automatically modernize their codebases by adopting newer language features and idioms. This proactive approach helps keep the vast Go code corpus up-to-date, addressing concerns that LLMs might otherwise perpetuate older coding styles. The robust Go analysis framework underpinning go fix highlights Go's commitment to tooling excellence and developer experience.

126

Score

Comments

Highest Rank

on Front Page

First Seen

Feb 17, 5:00 PM

Last Seen

Feb 17, 10:00 PM

Rank Over Time

The Lowdown

The Go team has significantly upgraded its go fix subcommand in the Go 1.26 release, transforming it into a powerful tool for code modernization. Leveraging the Go analysis framework, go fix automatically identifies and applies changes to bring code in line with the latest language features and best practices.

Automatic Modernization: go fix runs silently, updating source files to use newer Go features like strings.Cut, min/max functions, and range over integers, or adapting to changes like the new new(expr) syntax.
LLM Training Data: A key motivation for this modernization effort is to ensure the global corpus of open-source Go code reflects modern idioms, thereby improving the quality of code generated by LLM coding assistants.
Go Analysis Framework: The new go fix is built on the same Go analysis framework as go vet and gopls, allowing for powerful, scalable analysis and fixes. This framework supports 'facts' for inter-package deductions and can run in various drivers.
Synergistic Fixes: Applying one fix might enable subsequent modernizations, allowing go fix to be run iteratively to achieve optimal results.
Infrastructure Improvements: Recent investments have improved the performance and ease of writing analyzers, including tools like inspector.Cursor for AST navigation and typeindex for efficient symbol lookup.
Self-Service Paradigm: The future vision includes a 'self-service' model where developers can define their own modernizations for third-party APIs or enforce internal guidelines, potentially through dynamically loaded analyzers.

By automating the adoption of new features and maintaining code freshness, go fix aims to reduce developer effort and ensure the Go ecosystem remains vibrant and aligned with its evolving language design, even influencing the quality of AI-generated code.

The Gossip

Go's Glorious Golem of Goodness

Many commenters expressed strong appreciation for Go's integrated and robust tooling, highlighting it as a significant advantage and a primary reason for choosing the language. They lauded the Go team's commitment to backward compatibility, which allows for exciting improvements like `go fix` without inducing developer anxiety. The sentiment is that Go's opinionated approach to tooling, testing, and compilation sets a high standard that other emerging languages should emulate.

Large Language Models' Lingering Legacy

A prominent theme revolved around the impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) on code quality. Commenters echoed the article's observation that LLMs tend to produce outdated or 'middling' code, reflecting their training data rather than the latest language idioms. Concerns were raised about LLMs introducing subtle bugs, especially in concurrent Go code, and the inherent difficulty in updating their knowledge base, leading to a fear of code homogenization and stagnation.

Modernization's Murky Methods

The discussion also touched on the general challenge of code modernization across different programming languages. Commenters noted the difficulty in keeping codebases current, especially in languages like C++. They praised `go fix` as an elegant solution that automates this often-tedious process for Go, ensuring code remains idiomatic and benefits from new features without manual intervention, a stark contrast to other ecosystems where such tools are rare or less effective.