ADR-0003: Go Portability Considerations¶

Status¶

Accepted

Context¶

The project may be ported to Go in the future. Certain Python idioms and patterns do not translate well to Go’s type system and concurrency model.

Decision¶

Adopt design choices that facilitate a potential Go port:

1. C-style formatting (see ADR-0001: C-Style String Formatting)

2. Interface-based design: Define explicit interfaces (ABCs) that map to Go interfaces

3. Composition over inheritance: Prefer composition patterns that translate to Go’s embedding

4. Explicit error handling: Prefer natural exceptions (IndexError, KeyError) over custom exception hierarchies — these map to Go’s explicit error returns

5. No metaclass magic: Avoid Python-specific metaclass tricks that have no Go equivalent

Consequences¶

• Code structure maps more naturally to Go’s type system

• Some Pythonic patterns (decorators, metaclasses, dynamic dispatch) are avoided even when they might be more concise

• Interface definitions serve as clear contracts for both Python and Go implementations

• The codebase may feel less “Pythonic” but gains cross-language clarity