100hellos/tinygo repository overview

⁠Hello World! From tinygo.

Language page⁠ — context, influences, and learning notes on the 100hellos site.

Source on GitHub⁠ (100hellos/tinygo)

⁠Trying it

docker run --rm --platform="linux/amd64" 100hellos/tinygo:latest

⁠Modifying it

Read the repo README⁠, or fork the project⁠ and customize it.

For an interactive shell:

docker run --rm --platform="linux/amd64" --entrypoint="" -it 100hellos/tinygo:latest zsh

⁠TinyGo

TinyGo is a Go compiler for small places. It's designed to bring the Go programming language to microcontrollers, WebAssembly, and other environments where traditional Go is too resource-intensive.

⁠About TinyGo

TinyGo is not just a subset of Go - it's a completely different compiler implementation built on LLVM that targets small devices and embedded systems. While regular Go is excellent for servers and desktop applications, TinyGo excels in:

• Microcontrollers: Arduino, Raspberry Pi Pico, micro:bit, ESP32, and many others
• WebAssembly: Creating small, fast WASM modules
• Embedded Systems: IoT devices, sensors, and real-time applications
• Static Binaries: Producing tiny, statically linked executables

⁠Key Differences from Regular Go

⁠Smaller Runtime

TinyGo implements a much smaller runtime compared to standard Go:

• No garbage collector (or a very minimal one depending on target)
• Smaller standard library footprint
• Direct hardware access for microcontrollers

⁠Size Comparison

Where a regular Go "Hello World" might be 2MB+, TinyGo can produce:

• Microcontrollers: 1-10KB depending on target
• WebAssembly: 1-50KB
• Linux executables: 10-100KB

⁠Compilation Targets

TinyGo supports dozens of microcontroller targets out of the box:

# Examples of supported targets
tinygo flash -target=arduino main.go
tinygo flash -target=microbit main.go
tinygo flash -target=pico main.go
tinygo build -target=wasm main.go

⁠Language Features

TinyGo supports most Go language features including:

• Goroutines (limited on some targets)
• Channels
• Interfaces
• Closures
• Most standard library packages (subset)

Note: Some advanced features like reflection and the full net/http package may not be available on all targets.

⁠Real-World Applications

TinyGo is used in production for:

• IoT Sensors: Temperature, humidity, motion sensors
• Robotics: Motor controllers, sensor integration
• Wearables: Fitness trackers, smartwatches
• Industrial Control: PLCs, automation systems
• Edge Computing: Lightweight data processing

⁠Development Workflow

Unlike regular Go development, TinyGo often involves:

1. Target Selection: Choosing your hardware platform
2. Hardware Abstraction: Using machine package for GPIO, I2C, SPI
3. Size Optimization: Keeping code minimal for resource constraints
4. Cross-Compilation: Building for different architectures

Example microcontroller code:

package main

import (
    "machine"
    "time"
)

func main() {
    led := machine.LED
    led.Configure(machine.PinConfig{Mode: machine.PinOutput})

    for {
        led.High()
        time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
        led.Low()
        time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
    }
}

⁠Further Exploration

• Official Website: tinygo.org⁠
• GitHub Repository: github.com/tinygo-org/tinygo⁠
• Hardware Drivers: tinygo.org/x/drivers⁠
• Examples: github.com/tinygo-org/tinygo/tree/release/src/examples⁠
• Supported Boards: tinygo.org/docs/reference/microcontrollers/⁠

TinyGo opens up the world of embedded programming to Go developers, bringing familiar syntax and powerful features to the smallest of devices.