How to enable and use Go's runtime debugging options (e.g., GODEBUG)?

To enable and use Go's runtime debugging options, you can utilize the GODEBUG environment variable, which provides a way to control various debugging features at runtime.

Here are the steps to enable and use Go's runtime debugging options:

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.

2. Set the GODEBUG environment variable with the desired debugging options. The syntax for setting environment variables may differ depending on your operating system. For Unix-like systems (e.g., Linux, macOS), you can use the following command:

   export GODEBUG=<debugging_options>

   Replace <debugging_options> with the specific debugging options you want to enable. Multiple debugging options can be combined using a comma (,).

   For example, to enable the tracing of goroutine scheduling, you can set GODEBUG as follows:

   export GODEBUG=schedtrace=1000

   In this case, a trace will be written to the standard error for every 1000th scheduler.Sched() call.

3. Run your Go program with the modified GODEBUG environment variable. If you're running a Go application, you can simply execute the program in the same terminal session where you set the GODEBUG variable.

   For example:

   go run main.go

   If you're running a pre-compiled binary, you can set the GODEBUG environment variable inline while executing it.

   For example:

   GODEBUG=gctrace=1 ./myapp

   In this example, the gctrace option is set to 1, which will enable the garbage collector trace.

4. Verify that the runtime debugging options are being applied. Depending on the debugging option you set, you might see additional logs or trace information generated by the runtime. The specific output will depend on the debugging option used.

Note: The available debugging options can vary depending on the Go version you are using. Refer to the official documentation for your specific version to determine the available options and their usage.