I'm diving back into programming after a decade and I'm trying to figure out if it's possible for a program I write in C# to call data from files already created in Go. Is this feasible? If so, are there specific things I should be aware of while attempting this? I know I'm still building my skills, but I find that looking ahead helps keep me motivated!
3 Answers
Absolutely, different programming languages can definitely interact! The key here is something called a language binding. Most languages have ways to bind to C, which can then be used by others, like calling Go code in C#. For your project, you'll want to use P/Invoke in C# to handle calls to Go code that's been exposed as a shared library. Just keep in mind that the process can be tricky to set up and may not cover every feature perfectly, but it's totally doable!
Yes, it’s quite possible! A common approach for making C# and Go work together is exposing a C-style interface from Go that C# can call via P/Invoke. Alternatively, you can also have your C# application communicate with your Go application over a network using HTTP or a message queue, creating a service-oriented architecture. This can simplify the interoperability but definitely introduces a bit of overhead. It really boils down to whether you want direct calls or are okay with a more decoupled service model.
For sure, people do this kind of integration all the time! The typical method is using a foreign function interface (FFI), which lets one language call functions from another. If your C# app needs to work closely with Go, consider compiling your Go code into a shared library that C# can load. Another option is to use inter-process communication, where your C# application interacts with a Go service over a defined protocol. It really depends on your exact needs and which method suits your project best!
Thanks for the insights! I think I’ll explore creating a shared library first. That sounds like the most direct approach.