Connecting the database

The essential part of working with the database is the connection to the database itself. The Go standard package covers only the abstraction on how the interaction with the database works, and a third-party driver must be used.

In this recipe, we will show how to connect to the PostgreSQL database. However, the approach is applicable to all other databases whose driver implements the standard API. 

Getting ready

Verify if Go is properly installed by calling the go version command in your Terminal. If the command fails, do the following:

• Pull the PostgreSQL driver by go get -u github.com/lib/pq
• Install the PostgreSQL database server (optionally use a Docker image instead of installing to your host system)
• We will use default user postgres with password postgres
• Create a database named example

How to do it...

1. Open the console and create the folder chapter08/recipe01.
2. Navigate to the directory.
3. Create the connect.go file with the following content:

       package main

       import...