Buffalo vs Go: What are the differences?
# Introduction
Buffalo and Go are two frameworks used for web development, but they have key differences that set them apart.
1. **File Structure**: In Buffalo, the file structure is opinionated and follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, making it easier for developers to organize their code. On the other hand, Go leaves the file structure open to the developer's interpretation, providing more flexibility but requiring more effort to set up a structured codebase.
2. **Code Generation**: Buffalo comes with a powerful code generation tool, pop, which automates the creation of models, migrations, and other resources. Go does not offer such a tool, meaning developers using Go have to write more code manually.
3. **Database Integration**: Buffalo has built-in support for the pop ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) library, making it easy to work with databases in an object-oriented way. In contrast, Go does not have a specific ORM library integrated, requiring developers to choose and integrate third-party libraries for database interaction.
4. **Front-end Development**: Buffalo includes Webpack and Yarn to manage front-end assets and dependencies, making it easier to build and bundle front-end code. Go, being a programming language, does not focus on front-end development tools and requires developers to set up their own toolchain for managing front-end assets.
5. **Authentication and Authorization**: Buffalo provides built-in authentication and authorization tools, such as the ability to integrate with OAuth providers easily. In Go, developers have to implement authentication and authorization from scratch or integrate third-party packages, adding more complexity to the development process.
6. **Error Handling**: Buffalo provides a robust error handling mechanism, including built-in support for handling different types of errors and responding appropriately. Go, while offering error handling capabilities, requires developers to implement error handling logic manually, leading to potential inconsistencies in error responses.
In Summary, Buffalo offers a more opinionated and structured approach to web development with built-in tools for code generation, database integration, front-end development, and error handling, while Go provides greater flexibility but requires developers to set up these tools and components themselves.