Building Modern CLI Applications in Go

Evolve the humble CLI using Go and unleash the next generation of powerful, flexible, and empathy-driven interfaces

Key Features
Discover how Go enables the development of elegant and intuitive CLIs
Explore a range of CLI development aspects and pick up a vast array of best practices
Create engaging and user-friendly interfaces and learn how to distribute them
Book Description
Although graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are intuitive and user-friendly, nothing beats a command-line interface (CLI) when it comes to productivity. Many organizations settle for a GUI without searching for alternatives that offer better accessibility and functionality. If this describes your organization, then pick up this book and get them to rethink that decision.

Building Modern CLI Applications in Go will help you achieve an interface that rivals a GUI in elegance yet surpasses it in high-performance execution. Through its practical, step-by-step approach, you'll learn everything you need to harness the power and simplicity of the Go language to build CLI applications that revolutionize the way you work.

After a primer on CLI standards and Go, you'll be launched into tool design and proper framework use for true development proficiency. The book then moves on to all things CLI, helping you master everything from arguments and flags to errors and API calls. Later, you'll dive into the nuances of empathic development so that you can ensure the best UX possible, before you finish up with build tags, cross-compilation, and container-based distribution.

By the end of this UX book, you'll be fully equipped to take the performance and flexibility of your organization's applications to the next level.

What you will learn
Master the Go code structure, testing, and other essentials
Add a colorful dashboard to your CLI using engaging ASCII banners
Use Cobra, Viper, and other frameworks to give your CLI an edge
Handle inputs, API commands, errors, and timeouts like a pro
Target builds for specific platforms the right way using build tags
Build with empathy, using easy bug submission and traceback
Containerize, distribute, and publish your CLIs quickly and easily
Who this book is for
This book is for beginner- and intermediate-level Golang developers who take an interest in developing CLIs and enjoy learning by doing. You'll need an understanding of basic Golang programming concepts, but will require no prior knowledge of CLI design and development. This book helps you join a community of CLI developers and distribute within the popular Homebrew package management tool.

Table of Contents
Understanding CLI Standards
Structuring Go Code for CLI Applications
Design your tool and its purpose
Popular frameworks in Go to speed up and enhance CLI development
Processing Different Types of Input via Arguments and Flags
Calling External Processes and API commands and Handle Timeouts, and Error Handling
Developing for Different Platforms
Being Clear, Concise and Consistent with CLIs
Empathic Side of Development
Interactivity with Prompts and Terminal Dashboards
Customizing Go Binaries with Build Tags
Cross Compilation Across Different Platforms
Using Containers for Distribution
Publish your Go binary as a Homebrew Formula with GoReleaser