Setting up an SQL connection in Go

Setting up an SQL connection in Go is simple, thanks to Go’s database/sql package, which provides a standard interface for working with SQL databases. Here's a step-by-step guide using MySQL as an example.

Step 1: Install the MySQL Driver

To use MySQL with Go, you’ll need to install a driver. The most commonly used MySQL driver is go-sql-driver/mysql:

go get -u github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql

Step 2: Import the Required Packages

In your Go file, import the database/sql package along with the MySQL driver:

import (
 "database/sql"
 "fmt"
 "log"
 _ "github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql"
)

The underscore before the MySQL driver package imports it solely for its initialization side effects, as it registers itself with database/sql without being directly referenced in the code.

Step 3: Configure the Database Connection

Define the database connection string with the following format:

dsn := "username:password@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/dbname"

For example:

• username is your MySQL username.
• password is your MySQL password.