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Green Computing & Go Programming Language

In recent years, green computing has become increasingly important. And soon, you will need to account for your computer’s energy consumption, by law. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! 


Read about how switching to an energy efficient programming language like Go programming, can impact your carbon footprint.

WHAT IS GREEN COMPUTING?

Let’s start with the basics. Green computing is essentially an environmentally friendly approach to computing. It involves the use of computers and IT resources that are energy efficient and have minimal damaging effects on the environment. 

A key part of this is the use of energy efficient programming, which we will come onto shortly. 

But first…

WHAT IS THE GREENING GOVERNMENT ICT STRATEGY?

ICT is a big contributor to environmental issues. It consumes a huge amount of energy and resources, leading to significant greenhouse gas emissions. 

With a pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050, as set out by the Climate Change Act 2008, it is more important than ever to make a change. 

In 2011, the UK Government committed to the Greening Government ICT Strategy for the public sector (part of the Greening Government Commitments). The strategy recognises that green computing plays an important role in the protection of the environment and sustainable working practices. The green ICT principles span the full ICT lifecycle, including:

  • Manufacture and design
  • Procurement
  • Operation
  • Reuse and recycling
  • Disposal

WHAT IS ENERGY EFFICIENT PROGRAMMING?

Programming comes in many different languages. Some programming languages consume more energy than others. They also vary in memory usage and speed, which can contribute to energy consumption rates. 

When adopting a green computing strategy, it’s important to get the right balance of energy, memory usage and speed. In general, a programming language that uses less memory will contribute to a faster run-time. But the fastest performing languages aren’t necessarily the most energy efficient.

WHAT IS GO PROGRAMMING AND HOW CAN IT HELP WITH GREEN COMPUTING?

Go programming language, or Golang, is an increasingly popular programming language that is used to build reliable and efficient software. 

When assessing programming languages by a combination of energy and memory efficiency, Go is one of the top energy efficient programming languages out there. When you also factor in speed, Go programming still comes out on top. It’s no wonder that it was the fastest-growing programming language of 2021.

For many high profile companies, Go programming is now the language of choice used to develop their applications. Uber, the BBC and Soundcloud are just a few examples of companies that successfully made the switch to Go.

IS REST API ENERGY EFFICIENT?

An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of definitions and protocols that are used to build application software. It’s an intermediary that allows applications or devices to communicate with one another, in order to fulfil a request. The way that they talk to each other is determined by the chosen programming language. 

REST, or Representational State Transfer, is a set of architectural constraints. A REST API is an API that follows the principles of REST architectural style. It is commonly used, but it is known to use a lot of memory. 

When adopting a green computing approach, the key is to integrate sustainable processes into every application. By switching to a greener programming language, such as Go, you can develop a greener API that is built for sustainability – reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

BESPOKE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR ENERGY AND MEMORY EFFICIENCY

As we have established, implementing energy efficient programmes is one of the best ways to ‘go green’ in computing. Building software using an energy efficient programming language is the way forward. 

If your software is using a lot of energy, is taking up too much memory or slowing you down, then it may be time to consider your options. 

You could:

  • Make improvements by rewriting your system entirely. The downside to this is that it can be hard and costly to rewrite from scratch. But with the continuing rise of energy costs, you would likely see a return within around 5 years. 
  • Switch to a better (and greener) programming language. It’s simpler than rewriting your software and is often just as effective.

HOW WE CAN HELP

At Codeminers, we love programming and we love our planet. So it only makes sense for us to adopt a green computing strategy ourselves. 

We are experts in Go programming language and eco-friendly bespoke software development. If you’d like to know more, we’d love to chat. Get in touch with us today.