Go is a powerful programming language that has been gaining popularity over the years. It is an open-source language that is designed to be efficient, fast, and reliable. In this tutorial, we will be exploring how to build desktop applications with Go programming.


Prerequisites

Before we dive into building desktop applications with Go programming, you need to have a few things in place. Here is a list of the tools you need:

  1. Go compiler: You can download the Go compiler from the official website.
  2. Go GTK library: The Go GTK library is a graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit for Go programming. You can download the Go GTK library from the official website.
  3. A code editor: You can use any code editor of your choice, such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Atom.

Once you have these tools in place, we can proceed to build a desktop application with Go programming.


Step 1: Create a new project

The first step in building a desktop application with Go programming is to create a new project. Open your code editor and create a new project directory. You can name the directory whatever you want.


Step 2: Install Go GTK library

To build a GUI for our desktop application, we need to install the Go GTK library. To install the Go GTK library, run the following command:

go get github.com/gotk3/gotk3/gtk

This command will download and install the Go GTK library in your project.


Step 3: Create a new window

The next step is to create a new window for our desktop application. Add the following code to your project:

package main

import (
    "github.com/gotk3/gotk3/gtk"
)

func main() {
    gtk.Init(nil)

    // Create a new window
    win, err := gtk.WindowNew(gtk.WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    // Set the window title
    win.SetTitle("My Desktop Application")

    // Set the window size
    win.SetDefaultSize(800, 600)

    // Show the window
    win.ShowAll()

    // Run the main GTK+ loop
    gtk.Main()
}

In the above code, we are importing the Go GTK library and initializing it. We are then creating a new window using the gtk.WindowNew function. We are setting the title and size of the window using the SetTitle and SetDefaultSize functions, respectively. Finally, we are showing the window using the ShowAll function and running the GTK+ loop using the gtk.Main function.


Step 4: Add widgets to the window

Now that we have created a new window, we can add widgets to it. Widgets are the basic building blocks of a GUI. You can add widgets such as buttons, labels, text boxes, and so on.

Let's add a label widget to our window. Add the following code to your project:

package main

import (
    "github.com/gotk3/gotk3/gtk"
)

func main() {
    gtk.Init(nil)

    // Create a new window
    win, err := gtk.WindowNew(gtk.WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    // Set the window title
    win.SetTitle("My Desktop Application")

    // Set the window size
    win.SetDefaultSize(800, 600)

    // Create a new label widget
    label, err := gtk.LabelNew("Welcome to my desktop application!")
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    // Add the label to the window
    win.Add(label)
// Show the window
win.ShowAll()

// Run the main GTK+ loop
gtk.Main()
}

In the above code, we are creating a new label widget using the `gtk.LabelNew` function. We are setting the label text to "Welcome to my desktop application!". We are then adding the label to the window using the `Add` function.


Step 5: Handle events

Now that we have added a label widget to our window, we can handle events on the widget. Events are actions that occur when the user interacts with the widget.

Let's add a button widget to our window and handle the button click event. Add the following code to your project:

import (
"fmt"
"github.com/gotk3/gotk3/gtk"
)

func main() {
gtk.Init(nil)

// Create a new window
win, err := gtk.WindowNew(gtk.WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)
if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

// Set the window title
win.SetTitle("My Desktop Application")

// Set the window size
win.SetDefaultSize(800, 600)

// Create a new label widget
label, err := gtk.LabelNew("Welcome to my desktop application!")
if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

// Add the label to the window
win.Add(label)

// Create a new button widget
button, err := gtk.ButtonNewWithLabel("Click me!")
if err != nil {
    panic(err)
}

// Handle the button click event
button.Connect("clicked", func() {
    fmt.Println("Button clicked!")
})

// Add the button to the window
win.Add(button)

// Show the window
win.ShowAll()

// Run the main GTK+ loop
gtk.Main()
}

In the above code, we are creating a new button widget using the `gtk.ButtonNewWithLabel` function. We are setting the button label to "Click me!". We are then handling the button click event using the `Connect` function. We are printing a message to the console when the button is clicked. We are finally adding the button to the window using the `Add` function.


Step 6: Build and run the application

We have now completed building our desktop application with Go programming. To build and run the application, open your terminal, navigate to the project directory, and run the following command:

go run main.go

This command will compile and run the application. You should see a window with a label widget and a button widget. When you click the button, you should see a message printed to the console.


Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have explored how to build desktop applications with Go programming. We have learned how to create a new window, add widgets to the window, handle events on the widgets, and build and run the application. With this knowledge, you can start building your own desktop applications with Go programming.