What are the potential drawbacks of using unbuffered channels in a large-scale application

1. Synchronization Points: Unbuffered channels create synchronization points where goroutines must wait for each other to complete. This can lead to sequential execution, which may not be desirable in a large-scale application where parallelism is essential[1][3][5].

2. Hidden Race Conditions: Unbuffered channels can hide race conditions that would occur with a buffer size greater than zero. This means that if you need to increase the buffer size for performance reasons, you will suddenly have to solve a bunch of race conditions, which can be a form of tech debt[1].

3. Blocking: Unbuffered channels block both the sender and receiver until the other side is ready. This can lead to performance issues if the receiver is slower than the sender or if there are many goroutines competing for the channel[2][3][5].

4. Limited Scalability: Unbuffered channels can limit the scalability of your application because they create a bottleneck where goroutines must wait for each other to complete. This can lead to a situation where the application is not fully utilizing the available CPU resources[1][3][5].

5. Complexity: Unbuffered channels can add complexity to your application because they require careful management to ensure that goroutines are not blocked indefinitely. This can lead to more difficult debugging and maintenance[1][3][5].

6. Performance: Unbuffered channels can impact performance because they create additional overhead for goroutines to wait for each other. This can lead to slower response times and reduced throughput[2][3][5].

7. Error Handling: Unbuffered channels can make error handling more difficult because they can lead to deadlocks if goroutines are not properly synchronized. This can lead to more complex error handling and debugging[1][3][5].

In summary, while unbuffered channels can be useful in certain situations, they can also introduce significant drawbacks in a large-scale application. It is essential to carefully consider the trade-offs and choose the appropriate channel type based on the specific requirements of your application.