Does Go Block the Current Thread When a Goroutine Performs I/O Operations?

Does Go Block the Current Thread During Goroutine I/O Operations?

Asynchronous programming in Go can seem confusing, particularly if you're familiar with languages like C# that explicitly use the "await" keyword for asynchronous operations.

The Reality

While Go's APIs often appear synchronous, they employ a sophisticated scheduler that transparently handles context switching and asynchronous I/O operations. This means that when you write blocking code within a goroutine, it does not actually block the underlying thread.

How It Works

Go's scheduler dynamically allocates system threads as needed, even when your code appears to be blocking. During genuine blocking operations (such as file I/O), the Go runtime may allocate additional threads.

Implications for Developers

This behavior allows for concurrency and scalability even when using blocking code. For example, you can have thousands of goroutines running on a small number of actual system threads, effectively handling multiple simultaneous requests without blocking the entire application.

Additional Resources

For further insights, refer to the Go documentation on concurrency: https://go.dev/doc/effective_go#goroutines

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