---
title: "Go, Backwards Compatibility, and GODEBUG"
layout: article
---

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This document is kept in the Go repo, not x/website,
because it documents the full list of known GODEBUG settings,
which are tied to a specific release.
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## Introduction {#intro}

Go's emphasis on backwards compatibility is one of its key strengths.
There are, however, times when we cannot maintain complete compatibility.

}

func ExampleSplitAfterN() {
	fmt.Printf("%q\n", bytes.SplitAfterN([]byte("a,b,c"), []byte(","), 2))
	// Output: ["a," "b,c"]
}

func ExampleTitle() {
	fmt.Printf("%s", bytes.Title([]byte("her royal highness")))
	// Output: Her Royal Highness
}

func ExampleToTitle() {
	fmt.Printf("%s\n", bytes.ToTitle([]byte("loud noises")))
	fmt.Printf("%s\n", bytes.ToTitle([]byte("хлеб")))
	// Output:

<!--{
	"Title": "The Go Memory Model",
	"Subtitle": "Version of June 6, 2022",
	"Path": "/ref/mem"
}-->

<style>
p.rule {
  font-style: italic;
}
</style>

<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>

<p>
The Go memory model specifies the conditions under which
reads of a variable in one goroutine can be guaranteed to
observe values produced by writes to the same variable in a different goroutine.
</p>