Investigate language choice for sample codelabs

[vjpai]

• Go

  • Pro: great learning tool, easy to install, seamless integration with other Google-based learning experiences (such as kubernetes class), easy to express concurrency
  • Con: Heavily used but not necessarily widely; many users are already experienced with principles of building microservices. No idiomatic way to express async RPCs.

• Python

  • Pro: Seamless gRPC installation process, possibly the most widely used language in general
  • Con: Like other GIL-based languages, may be overly slow

• Other choices?

[hsaliak]

@vjpai For Go i think the 'concurrency baked in' will allow us to cleanly discuss async patterns even though the library does not support them (it does not need to). I would not call this a Con. Pro: Its fast to compile and easy to set up, so there should be no problem in ensuring that students have the right environment set up.

For Python: Cons: The generated proto readability is a major Con IMO. It needs to be loaded and introspected in the interpreter if the student wants to understand it a little better. I do not think speed is a concern for the course however.

Pro over go for the class: Unit testing is easier to set up and run than Go.

Other choices: Node.js? (I do not know much about this)