Running Go Programs In IronWorker

Introduction

Iron.io has a product called IronWorker which provides a task oriented Linux container that you can run your programs inside. If you are not sure what I mean, think of this as having a temporary Linux virtual machine instantly available for your personal but short term use. IronWorker allows you to load your binaries, code files, support files, shells scripts and just about anything else you may need to run your program in the container. You specify a single task to execute, such as running a shell script or a binary and IronWorker will perform that task when requested. Once the task is complete, IronWorker will tear down the container as if it never existed.

If you are developing in Windows or on the Mac and plan to load and run pre-built binaries in IronWorker, they must be built for Linux. If that could be a problem don’t despair, you have options.

You can create an Ubuntu VM so you can build the Linux binaries you need. This is what I do. I don’t develop in my Ubuntu VM, I use it as a testing and staging area. Your second option is to build your program inside of the IronWorker container and then execute it. You have a lot of flexibility to do what you need with IronWorker.