Getting Started with Golang MSSQL Server: Easy Step-by-Step Explanation

A database is a logically organized collection of structured data kept electronically in a computer system. The collection of facts or information that has been carefully structured allows a computer to find and retrieve it quickly. A database is often created to make it simple to store and retrieve data. Any firm or organization needs a good database. This is because the database contains all of the company’s relevant information, such as employee records and transactional records.

Therefore could be retrieved in no time using Databases. Here’s a how-to Guide for the combo of a well-known language GoLang MSSQL server, that has quickly gained popularity.

What is GoLang?

Go (also known as Golang or Go language) is an open-source general-purpose computer language. Google engineers created Go to construct stable and efficient software.

Go is a programming language that is syntactically similar to C and focuses on simplicity, reliability, and efficiency. It produces generated machine code binaries and is statically typed. Go was designed from the ground up for networking and infrastructure-related applications.

It was designed to take the place of popular server-side languages like Java and C++. Go is now utilized in a wide range of applications, including cloud and server-side apps, DevOps, command-line tools, and more. Because it was created primarily for web development, Golang is an excellent choice. It allows programmers to create scalable and secure web applications in a short amount of time. It also allows businesses to deploy quickly across several platforms.

Let’s look at how to get started using GoLang more specifically.

Download the setup from Browser

1. Open www.golang.com
2. Click on the download option visible on the screen.

3. A screen will open up with 4 binary releases. Choose one, suitable for your system

4. On clicking the selected binary release, GoLang will get downloaded to your system.

Installing on your System

Choose the tab below that corresponds to your computer’s operating system, then follow the installation instructions.

1. Run the MSI file you downloaded and install GoLang by following the prompts.

2. To agree to the Golang license agreement, check the box and then click ‘Next’.

3. The installer will install Go to Program Files or Program Files(x86) by default. You have the option to change the location as needed.

4. This will install the Golang setup package on your computer.

Any open command prompts must be closed and reopened after installation so that the installer’s modifications to the environment are reflected at the command prompt.

What is MS SQL?

Microsoft’s SQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that it developed and markets. SQL Server, like other RDBMS software, is based on SQL, a standard programming language for working with relational databases.

SQL server is linked to Microsoft’s Transact-SQL, or T-SQL, which adds a set of proprietary programming features to SQL. SQL Server has run exclusively on Windows environments for more than 20 years. Microsoft released it for Linux in 2016. In October 2016, SQL Server 2017 became generally available for both Windows and Linux. The tools that are installed when you install the SQL Server Database Engine are determined by the edition and your setup settings.

Tools to Download MS SQL

SQL Server Developer Edition

Both SQL Server and the client tools are required to install SQL Server Configuration Manager. It allows you to enable server protocols, specify protocol features such as TCP ports, schedule server services, and configure client computers to connect in the way you want. The advanced connectivity pieces are configured with this tool, but functionalities are not enabled.

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

The main tool for operating the Database Engine and writing Transact-SQL code is SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). The shell of Visual Studio is where it’s hosted. SSMS can be downloaded for free. Older versions of the Database Engine can be utilized with the latest version.

SQL Server Developer Edition

Microsoft offers a number of SQL Server editions. Simply select ‘Download Now’. For learning reasons, you can get the Developer edition.

Installation Process

• To run the Installer, double-click the SQL2019-SSEI-Dev.exe file after it has finished downloading.
•  Select ‘Basic’ when the downloader asks you to choose an installation type.

• After reading the terms and conditions, click Accept to confirm that you agree to the terms of the licence.

• Choose a location to save the installation files, then click the Download option.                                             

• The downloader will download the installer files. It’ll take a little while.

•  When the installation process is complete, select the ‘Connect’ option. If the following file appears, your server has been correctly installed and is functioning properly.

• The next step is to install SQL Server Management Studio by selecting the option Install ‘SSMS’.

• This will take you to the page where the studio download link may be found. To get the setup, simply click on the link.

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

A SQL Server client tool is required to interface with SQL Server. The SQL Server Management Studio is a tool provided by Microsoft (SSMS). SQL Server Management Studio is a piece of software that allows you to query, develop, and manage SQL Server on your local machine or in the cloud. It includes tools for configuring, monitoring, and managing SQL Server instances.

First, download the SSMS from the Microsoft website via the following link:

 Free Download for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 18.10

Installation Process

Double-click the installation file SSMS-Setup-ENU.exe to start the SSMS installer. The SMSS installation process is straightforward. You must follow the on-screen instructions.

1. Select the Install option from the menu after you’ve chosen the installation directory.

2. Give the installer a few minutes to finish installing the software.

3. Click the Close button after you’re finished with the setting.

SQL Server 2019 and SQL Server Management Studio should now be installed on your computer.

Connect to the SQL Server using SSMS

To connect to SQL Server using Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, follow these steps.

To get started, go to the Start menu and type Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio into the search box.

1. Then, using the Object Explorer’s Connect menu, select the Database Engine.

2. Next, enter the Server Authentication user’s Server name (localhost), Authentication (SQL Server Authentication), and password, then click the Connect button to connect to the SQL Server. It’s critical to remember to log in using the Server Authentication user and password you created during installation.

3. The Object Explorer panel should look like this if the connection is created correctly.

Using Golang MSSQL Server

To connect to the SQL Server instance, I used the code below. I’m connecting to a default instance, but you’ll need to escape the with localhost<instance name> if you’re connected to a named instance. When operating with SQL, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is query a record after you’ve created it. It’s natural to want to check what you’ve just saved in your database and to make sure it’s still there.

Based on the use case, there are a variety of ways to run queries. When we only need a single entry from our table, we can utilize the db.QueryRow method. Let’s begin with a query in GoLang that uses the MSSQL server.

In a separate file within the database package, create the ‘createCity’, ‘retrieveCity’, and ‘deleteCity methods’.

Inserting a City Record in GoLang MSSQL Server

Create a file called operations in the database directory to start constructing the first function for inserting a City record. Add the following code to the operations. go to the file:

// ./database/operations.go

package database
import (
   "fmt"
)
 
func (db Database) CreateCity(idInpt string, nameInpt, descriptionInput string) (error) {
 
   queryStatement :=  "INSERT INTO dbo.cities VALUES (? , ? , ?)"
 
   stmt ,err := db.SqlDb.Prepare(queryStatement); 
   if err != nil {
        fmt.Printf("--> Prrepare query Error occured ")
 
        return err
    }
 
   defer stmt.Close()
 
   _ , newRecord := stmt.Exec( idInpt , nameInpt ,descriptionInput )
   fmt.Printf("Record inserted : " , newRecord)
 
   return  nil
}

The string information of a reminder is passed to the exported ‘CreateCity’ function in the code block above. The function’s first step is to use the PingContext() method to check if a connection is active. The queryStatement variable is then filled with a SQL statement produced with the Prepare() method. The SQL statement is then executed by calling the QueryRowContext function with the dbContext and query parameters.

Take note of how the function’s parameters are added to the SQL statement via arguments using the NamedArg() method rather than straight into the SQL statement. An SQL injection attack is less likely with this method. You can, however, use a data validation library later.

Retrieving a City Record in GoLang MSSQL Server

To retrieve a City record, add the exporting RetrieveCity method underneath the current operations methods in the code block. Go ahead and file. The RetrieveCity function checks if the database connection is active before running a SQL query to obtain a City record out from database and printing the results to the console:

func (db Database) RetrieveCity() error {
    err := db.SqlDb.PingContext(dbContext); if err != nil {
       return err
    }
    
       sqlStatement := fmt.Sprintf("SELECT id, name, description FROM cities;")
    
       data, queryErr := db.SqlDb.QueryContext(dbContext, sqlStatement); if queryErr != nil {
          return queryErr
       }
    
       for data.Next() {
          var id, name, description string
    
          nErr := data.Scan(&id, &name, &description); if nErr != nil {
             return nErr
          }
    
          fmt.Printf("--> Row: n t id: %v n t name: %v n t description: %v n",id, name, description)
       }
    
       return nil
    }

Deleting a Reminder Record in GoLang MSSQL Server

Add the deleteCity method to the operations alongside the CreateCity and RetrieveCity methods to remove a City record. file a report:

func (db Database) DeleteCity(id string) error {
    var err error
    
    err = db.SqlDb.PingContext(dbContext); if err != nil {
       fmt.Printf("Error checking db connection: %v", err)
    }
    
    sqlStatement := fmt.Sprintf("DELETE FROM cities WHERE id = %s" , id)
    
    data, err := db.SqlDb.QueryContext(dbContext, sqlStatement); if err != nil {
        return err
    }
 
    fmt.Printf("Deleted row%s", data )
    return nil;
}

In its signature, the DeleteCity method accepts a string alias value. The WHERE clause is used in the DELETE SQL query statement to define which city to delete. The query statement is then prepared, and the alias parameter of the function is utilized as the condition of the SQL statement’s WHERE clause. Because we don’t have any rows to return from the query, the ExecContext() method performs the DELETE SQL statement in this case.

Let’s start by defining a structure to represent each query’s results:

Let’s use the QueryRow method to fetch the first entry in our city table:

This will give us the following output:

The Query method in GoLang MSSQL Server, which typically returns a Rows instance, can be used to query multiple rows. Every entry will insert data, but make sure to reload the table every time you input a new row.

Using GoLang MSSQL Server to Check the Record

To check the records using the GoLang MSSQL Server Simply run the second command to check the record of your city table. All of the entries that are being input will be displayed on the terminal.

ENTRY DELETE Command in GoLang MSSQL Server

As opposed to reads (SELECT queries), in the GoLang MSSQL Server, there are no returned rows after writing to a database in GoLang MSSQL Server.

Instead, in GoLang MSSQL Server, the database returns information about the executed query, like the number of rows returned. With the sql library, we can make use of the Exec method to delete inserted queries.

Let’s see how we can use this to delete an entry from the city table in GoLang MSSQL Server:

After entering the required information, this will successfully delete an unwanted row.

Benefits of Golang MSSQL Server Integration

Integrating Golang with MSSQL Server offers several advantages:

1. High Performance: Golang’s efficiency ensures quick query processing and smooth data handling with MSSQL Server.
2. Scalability: Easily handle growing data loads and scale applications seamlessly.
3. Reliable Data Connectivity: Provides robust and secure connections to MSSQL Server for consistent performance.
4. Cross-Platform Compatibility: Golang’s flexibility allows integration across various operating systems without hassle.
5. Simplified Development: Easy-to-use libraries streamline interaction with MSSQL, reducing development time.
6. Cost-Effectiveness: Open-source nature of Golang and MSSQL’s features make it a budget-friendly solution for developers.

Conclusion

The collection of facts or information that has been carefully structured allows a computer to find and retrieve it quickly. Databases make it possible and deal with the bulk of data easily.

Go (also known as Golang or Go language) is an open-source general-purpose computer language. Being an excellent choice, it allows programmers to create scalable and secure web applications in a short amount of time. Microsoft’s SQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS). SQL Server, like other RDBMS software, is based on SQL, a standard programming language for working with relational databases.

Now, to run SQL queries or perform Data Analytics on your SQL Server data, you first need to export this data to a Data Warehouse. This will require you to custom code complex scripts to develop the ETL processes.

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Frequently Asked Questions