Learn MARTINI with Real Code Examples

Martini provides a simple, modular approach to building web applications using Go.

It uses a middleware-driven architecture, allowing handlers to be composed easily.

Supports routing, dependency injection, and basic HTTP handling.

Focuses on developer productivity and fast prototyping.

Lightweight and unopinionated, making it easy to integrate with other Go libraries.

Routing and request handling

Handler functions with dependency injection

Support for middleware chains

Integration with templates (HTML, JSON)

Flexible request/response lifecycle

Router - defines HTTP routes and handlers

Handler - function executed per request

Middleware - pre/post processing logic

Context - manages request-scoped data and DI

ResponseWriter - sends HTTP responses

main.go - entry point

routes/ - route definitions (optional)

handlers/ - request handlers

templates/ - HTML templates (optional)

static/ - CSS, JS, images

Define routes and attach handlers

Add middleware for logging, recovery, etc.

Create templates for HTML responses if needed

Implement business logic in handlers or services

Start server and test endpoints

Beginner: simple JSON API

Intermediate: CRUD app with templates

Advanced: middleware-heavy microservices

Expert: integrating with other Go services

Enterprise: not recommended due to limited ecosystem

Martini vs Gin -> Martini is simple and lightweight; Gin is faster and more feature-rich

Martini vs Echo -> Echo offers more middleware and modern features

Martini vs Revel -> Revel is heavier and more opinionated

Martini vs net/http -> Martini adds middleware and routing on top of Go standard library

Martini vs Fiber -> Fiber inspired by Express.js, optimized for speed; Martini is minimalistic

2011 - Martini initial release

2012 - Gained popularity in Go community

2014 - Last major updates, community contributions slow

2015+ - Superseded by Gin, Echo, and Fiber

2025 - Mostly archived but still usable for learning or small projects

Handler - function executed per request

Middleware - function pre/post-processing requests

Router - maps URLs to handlers

Context - stores request-scoped data

ResponseWriter - sends HTTP responses