Go Backend Template

This is a basic template for a Go backend with PostgreSQL. It includes best practices and boilerplate code to get you started quickly.

To use this template repo, you will need to change all instances of github.com/danyeric123/backend-service to your new name github.com/$USERNAME/$REPO_NAME where USERNAME is your username and REPO_NAME is the new name of the repo

Features

Dockerized Setup: Easily set up and run the application using Docker and Docker Compose.
PostgreSQL Integration: Pre-configured to connect to a PostgreSQL database.
Structured Logging: Uses logrus for structured logging.
Environment Variables: Uses environment variables for configuration.
Dependency Injection: Makes the code more testable and modular.

Project Structure

go-backend-template/
├── cmd/
│ └── main.go
├── db/
│ └── db.go
├── handlers/
│ └── handler.go
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yaml
├── go.mod
├── go.sum
├── init.sql
├── Makefile
└── README.md

Getting Started

To use this template repo, follow these steps:

Clone the Repository: Clone this repository to your local machine.
Replace Module Path: Change all instances of github.com/danyeric123/backend-service to your new module path github.com/$USERNAME/$REPO_NAME where USERNAME is your GitHub username and REPO_NAME is the new name of the repository.

Set Up Environment Variables: Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

POSTGRES_USER=your_postgres_user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_postgres_password
POSTGRES_DB=your_postgres_db
POSTGRES_HOST=db

Build and Run: Use the provided Makefile commands to build and run the application.

Prerequisites

Docker
Docker Compose

Running the Application

NOTE: You will need to have an .env file for POSTGRES_DB POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, POSTGRES_HOST (see below)

Build the Docker images:
```
make build
```
Run the application:
```
make run
```
Access the application at http://localhost:8080.

Cleaning Up

To stop and remove the Docker containers, run:

make clean

Commands

make help - Show this help message
make check_env - Check if .env file exists
make build - Build docker containers
make run - Run docker containers, rebuild if needed
make clean - Stop and remove docker containers
make fmt - Format code
make lint - Lint code

Database Initialization

The init.sql file contains SQL statements to initialize the database with some boilerplate data. This file is automatically executed when the PostgreSQL container is started.

Environment Variables

Set the following environment variables in your .env file or in your environment:

POSTGRES_USER: The PostgreSQL user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: The PostgreSQL password
POSTGRES_DB: The PostgreSQL database name
POSTGRES_HOST: The PostgreSQL host (usually db when using Docker Compose)

Explanation of Chosen Packages

logrus: logrus is used for structured logging. It provides log levels, hooks, and formatters, making it a powerful and flexible logging library compared to the standard log package.
mux: mux is a powerful URL router and dispatcher for matching incoming requests to their respective handler. Though the standard library's http package would suffice, mux adds more flexibility and features such as variables in routes, middleware support, and more.
sqlx: sqlx is an extension of the standard database/sql package. It has become a standard for working with SQL databases in Go due to its additional functionalities.
pq: pq is a pure Go Postgres driver for the database/sql package. PostgreSQL is a powerful, open-source object-relational database system, and pq provides reliable and efficient connectivity to PostgreSQL databases.

# README