Preface: This write-up was shelved for years and has been nothing but semi-private thoughts and rants amongst friends. However, recent events lead to the whole thing being penned and published. So be it.

On a high level, compilers are viewed as a single, solid, single-step-worker entity. A Gopher, aka Go programmer, interacts with the Go compiler via the abstractions of go build or go install commands. However, compilers, in their ideal form, consist of three layers creatively named: frontend, middle-end, and backend. The single go {build,install} command embarks on a journey through the three layers to convert the raw Go source code into machine code.