Go run: Compile or Interpret? Unveiling the Mystery

Demystifying Go's 'go run' Command

The go run command has users puzzled about its functionality. While go build and go install compile code into binary executables, it remains unclear whether go run compiles or interprets code.

Unveiling the Nature of 'go run'

In essence, go run is a convenience command that streamlines the compilation and execution process. Behind the scenes, it performs the following steps:

1. Compilation:

   • Similar to go build, it compiles the specified Go source file into a binary executable.

2. Temporary Execution:

   • Unlike go build which stores the executable in the current directory, go run places the executable in a random temporary folder.

3. Immediate Execution:

   • The command proceeds to execute the newly compiled binary from the temporary folder.

This behavior can be visualized as:

go run X.go -o /tmp/random-tmp-folder/exe & & /tmp/random-tmp-folder/exe

In other words, go run is essentially a shortcut for compiling and executing a Go program in one go (pun intended).

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