> With Go, you've only got one runtime to choose from.
Since Go compiles to a binary, the concept of a runtime doesn't apply the same way it does for Java. You can compile a Go program with the Go project's compiler or with the GCC. The GCC Go compiler uses different optimizations and may produce faster binaries in some circumstances. Since the Go language is also a spec, other compilers may arise if there's a demand.
Re:Go 1.6 is Released
by twistedpair on Thursday February 18, 2016 @09:55AM
(#11126117)
Correct. With Java I've got at least 4 compilers (JDK's) to choose from.
With the JVM you can use HotSpot, Dalvik, WebSphere, or OpenJDK. The JVM is just a spec. With Go, you've only got one runtime to choose from. That said, if you code to the JVM spec, then you don't care what implementation you run on.