Running go build produces a single binary that “just works.” But under the hood a fascinating chain of compilation, linking, and runtime initialization takes place before your main() function ever runs.

In this talk we will dissect the lifecycle of a Go program — from source code to running process.

We will explore:

* How the Go compiler transforms Go code into machine code
* The role of the Go linker
* What actually lives inside a Go binary
* How the Go runtime initializes memory, goroutines, and the scheduler
* What happens before main() runs
* How Go binaries interact with the operating system

Using tools like:

* go tool compile
* go tool objdump
* go tool nm
* strace
* runtime traces

we will peek inside Go binaries and understand how Go programs start and execute.

By the end of the talk, attendees will have a clear mental model of what actually happens when a Go program starts — knowledge that helps with debugging, performance tuning, and systems programming.