"Path": "/ref/spec"
}-->

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

<p>
This is the reference manual for the Go programming language as it was for
language version 1.17, in October 2021, before the introduction of generics.
It is provided for historical interest.
The current reference manual can be found <a href="/doc/go_spec.html">here</a>.
For more information and other documents, see <a href="/">go.dev</a>.
</p>

<p>

    validations:
      required: true

  - type: textarea
    id: generics-proposal
    attributes:
      label: Is this about generics?
      description: If so, how does this relate to the accepted design and other generics proposals?
      placeholder: |
       Yes or No

       If yes, 
        1. how does this relate to the accepted design and other generics proposals?

    validations:
      required: true

	"Path": "/ref/spec"
}-->

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

<p>
This is the reference manual for the Go programming language.
The pre-Go1.18 version, without generics, can be found
<a href="/doc/go1.17_spec.html">here</a>.
For more information and other documents, see <a href="/">go.dev</a>.
</p>

<p>
Go is a general-purpose language designed with systems programming