Go: Variable declaration outside of function body

As you may have noticed, programs with short variable declarations outside a function do not compile:

package main

n := 1    // does not compile

func main() {}

../main.go:3:1: syntax error: non-declaration statement outside function body

Short variable declarations can only be used inside functions. You have to write:

package main

var n = 1   // does compile

func main() {}

This is a trade-off in the design of the Go language:

At the top level, every declaration begins with a keyword. This simplifies parsing. golang-nuts forum: Ian Lance Taylor