The go doc command is a part of the Go programming language toolchain, designed to facilitate the retrieval and display of documentation for Go packages and symbols. Its primary purpose is to provide developers with a convenient means of accessing documentation directly from the command line.
Command Syntax:
# go doc [package|[package.]symbol[.methodOrField]]
The go doc command is used to retrieve and present the documentation for a specified Go package or symbol. If a package is specified, it displays package-level documentation. When a symbol (such as a type, function, method, field) is provided, it shows the documentation for that specific symbol.
The effectiveness of the Go doc depends on the inclusion of package-level comments, commonly known as docker comments, in the Go source code. These comments, following a specific format, enable the preparation of documents that cover different aspects of the package or symbol.
“go doctor” command example
1. Show documents for current package:
2. Show package documents and exported symbols:
3. Also show documentation of symbols:
# go doc -all encoding/json
4. Also show source:
# go doc -all -src encoding/json
5. Show a specific symbol:
# go doc -all -src encoding/json.Number
Summary
The Go doc command serves as a valuable tool for Go developers by providing an intuitive way to access documentation during development. It encourages the adoption of good documentation practices within the Go community and helps developers understand the functionality and usage of various components within their codebase.
