How do I use context with goroutines in Go?

How do I use context with goroutines in Go?

In Go, you can use the context package to manage cancellation signals and deadlines for goroutines. You typically create a context using context.Background() or context.TODO(), and then pass it to your goroutines.

Can you show me a code example?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

package main

import (
    "context"
    "fmt"
    "time"
)

func main() {
    ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 2*time.Second)
    defer cancel()

    go func() {
        // Simulate work
        time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
        fmt.Println("Goroutine finished work")
    }()

    <-ctx.Done() // Wait for the context to be done
    fmt.Println("Main function finished")
}

What happens if the goroutine takes longer than the context timeout?

If the goroutine takes longer than the context timeout, the context will be canceled, and any operations that check the context will be able to respond to that cancellation. However, the goroutine itself will continue running unless you explicitly check the context and handle the cancellation.