My first impression of it was that it was like a cross between Java and Python. It is unmistakably similar to Java conceptually and syntactically; they are sibling languages, both designed to streamline, simplify, or modernize C.

I'm a Java-literate C/C++ programmer. I would avoid writing straight Java code at all costs; I find it immiserating. Here are some reasons off the top of my head that Golang is more pleasant to work in:

* The syntax is deliberately streamlined, including implicit declarations, semicolon insertion, lightweight expression syntax, the capital-letter-exports-a-symbol thing

* It has fully functional idiomatic closures

* Interfaces get rid of adapter class BS

* The table type (maps, in Golang) is baked into the language, like Python, not a library, like C++ and Java

* Clearer, more direct control over memory layout; data structures in Golang feel like C

I don't know if Golang's standard library is that much better than Java's, but it was obviously designed carefully by and for systems programmers, so I find it remarkably easy to work with.

It also feels like a much smaller system than Java. Almost every time I write a significant amount of Golang code, I find myself answering questions by just reading the standard library source code. It's easy to get your head around. I've written compiler/runtime-level code for the JVM and I still don't have a great grip on all of Java.