example of how to do asynchronous http gets

asynchttpget.go

package main

import (
  "fmt"
  "net/http"
  "time"
)

var urls = []string{
  "http://rickt.org",
  "http://code.rickt.org",
  "http://golang.org",
  "http://regencydandy.com",
}

type HttpResponse struct {
  url      string
  response *http.Response
  err      error
}

func asyncHttpGets(urls []string) []*HttpResponse {
  ch := make(chan *HttpResponse)
  responses := []*HttpResponse{}
  for _, url := range urls {
    go func(url string) {
      fmt.Printf("Fetching %s \n", url)
      resp, err := http.Get(url)
      ch <- &HttpResponse{url, resp, err}
    }(url)
  }

  for {
    select {
    case r := <-ch:
      fmt.Printf("%s was fetched\n", r.url)
      responses = append(responses, r)
      if len(responses) == len(urls) {
        return responses
      }
    case <-time.After(50 * time.Millisecond):
      // uncomment below Printf if you'd like a "." to show every 50ms delay 
      // fmt.Printf(".")
    }
  }
  return responses
}

func main() {
  results := asyncHttpGets(urls)
  for _, result := range results {
    fmt.Printf("%s status: %s\n", result.url, result.response.Status)
  }
}