Go After 1.10 - Windows XP Revoked Support: What You Need to Know

Despite the end of support for Windows XP, the question remains: when will it become impossible to run Go-compiled executables on this platform?

The Technical Reasons

The Go community has actively discussed this issue in Issue #23380. While Go 1.10 is the last version to officially support XP, bug fixes will be backported until 1.11 and security backports until 1.12. This extends support until January 2019.

Beyond Technical Limitations: Non-Technical Factors

Maintaining support for any platform requires custodians with access to the platform and an incentive to work on it. For Windows XP, the situation is less than ideal. The primary Go-on-Windows developer, Alex Brainman, has expressed a lack of interest in supporting XP. Furthermore, automatic builders, essential for release and QA processes, need maintenance and support.

The Impact of Bug Fixes

Even if a bug fix applies to Windows in general and not specifically to XP, it still requires testing on XP to ensure it doesn't cause unintended issues. This adds to the workload and effort required to support XP.

Personal Involvement and Community Support

Without support from outside entities, self-sponsorship becomes the best course of action. Individuals can work towards maintaining XP support by building new Go releases from the source or contributing to the project.

The Go Team's Role

A roadblock for XP support could arise if the Go team encounters a requirement for a kernel feature absent in Windows XP. This could potentially prevent Go releases from functioning on the platform.

Conclusion

While Windows XP is officially no longer supported, Go-compiled executables can still be run on the platform for the time being. However, long-term support may depend on individual efforts and the community's commitment to maintaining compatibility.