Python vs Java: Which is Better?

Python and Java are among the most popular and chart-topping programming languages. Both are battling to be in the top position, with Python making constant improvements in the past few years while Java continues to maintain its position.

With Java, we can build various types of applications, such as desktop applications, network applications, web applications, Android applications, games, and so on. On the other hand, Python is widely used for data analysis, data visualization, task automation, and building websites and software.

This article will primarily focus on highlighting the key differences between Java and Python. But before that, we will walk you through a brief overview of Java and Python, with their features and downsides. So let us get started.

What is Python?

It is a high-level, general-purpose interpreted language. Guido Van Rossum first released Python 0.9.0 in 1991 as a replacement for the ABC programming language. Python 2.0 was released later that year, and it included garbage collection and list comprehension features.

Python 3.0 was released in 2008, and it was a significant revision of the language. Python 3.9.0 is the most recent version, and it includes a number of new features and optimizations. It is an open-source and free-to-use programming language licensed under the Python Software Foundation License. This language supports a wide range of programming principles, including object-oriented, procedural, structured, reflective, and functional.

Code readability is the core feature of the Python language, as it eliminates the use of complex symbols like curly braces to delimit blocks and semicolons after statements. Instead, it uses whitespace indentation. In addition, the syntax of Python is easily readable and understandable as it includes simple English keywords.

Benefits of Python

Some of the notable benefits of Python are:

• Simple and easy to learn and read.
• Python’s easy syntax helps developers concentrate on solving problems rather than spending time on understanding the syntax.
• Dynamically typed and high-level language.
• Huge Library support.
• Easy integration with C, C++, and Java languages.
• Compatible with major operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Disadvantages of Python

Some of the downsides of Python to take into consideration are:

• Weak language for mobile computing, as Android and iOS do not support Python as an official programming language.
• Slow in execution, as it is an interpreted language.
• Problems in achieving multi-threading due to the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL).
• Primitive and underdeveloped database layer.

What is Java?

It is also a high-level, object-oriented programming language. It is a class-based language, i.e., inheritance in Java is implemented using classes and objects rather than using objects alone. It is a free and open-source language designed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and first released in 1995. The latest version of Java is Java 17, and the current long-term support (LTS) versions of Java are Java 8, 11, and 17.

Java supports multiple programming paradigms, like functional, object-oriented, generic, concurrent, reflective, and procedural. WORA, or Write Once, Run Anywhere, is one of Java's best features. It allows you to write and compile Java code on one Java-supporting machine and run it on other Java-supporting machines without recompiling. This is accomplished by compiling Java code into bytecode similar to machine code, which is then executed at runtime by a Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Benefits of Java

Following are some significant advantages of Java:

• Less complicated syntax than C++.
• Write a Java code once and run it on almost any computing platform.
• Automatic memory management.
• Highly secure, as it does not use explicit pointers.
• Multi-threaded language, i.e., each bigger task is split into multiple threads, where all threads can run individually and parallelly.

Disadvantages of Java

Here are some drawbacks of Java to consider.

• Comparatively slower than other programming languages, as the compilation of programs takes time.
• Increased hardware cost due to high memory and processing requirements.
• Does not support low-level programming constructs, like Pointers.

Python vs Java: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Here is a table that shows some major differences between Java and Python.

Examples of Java and Python Program

To understand how the syntax of Java and Python differ, we shall implement Java and Python programs to print a sentence by taking input from the user.

Java Program

import java.util.Scanner;
public class TechGeeks
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
String str;
Scanner s1 = new Scanner(System.in);
System.out.print("Please Enter Your Name: ");
str = s1.nextLine();
System.out.println(str);
System.out.println("Your name is: " +str);
}
}

Output

Please Enter Your Name: John Brown
Your name is: John Brown

Python Program

str = input ("Please Enter Your Name: ")
print("Your name is: ", str)

Output

Please Enter Your Name: John Brown
Your name is: John Brown

Best Language for the Beginners Python or Java?

Most of the time beginners have a huge confusion that which programming language they should choose Python or Java so that they can imagine their bright career from it. If you will compare the real-time scenario, then both the languages are doing great in their specific field.

Python is also an old language like Java, but in past few years due to the increase in AI technologies, it hyped the use of python. It’s not like Java cannot do all those things that Python can do; even Java can do more than what Python can. Due to the simplicity and easy syntax of Python; Python is giving a hard fight to Java.

If you are totally new to the Programming language and have no experience with coding and you are thinking of choosing Java as your first programming language, then it will be a stupid idea of yours. Java is a pure object-oriented programming language, and if you do not have any idea about the programming language, you won’t be able to understand the complex structure of Java.

Moreover, if you have some experience with a programming language such as C or C++ then you can choose Java as your 2nd Programming language. If we talk about Python so there should be no hesitation to choose Python as your first language. Python also follows all the concepts of Java, but it also follows the Procedural system, like C and C++.

So it’s cool to choose Python as your first language. But when you try to move from Python to other languages like Java and C++ or PHP. You will find it hard to understand the syntax. Java is not the best language for the beginner, but you can choose it as your 2nd Programming language, and if you want to choose Python as your first programming language, you are free to opt for it.

Conclusion

Both Python and Java are great in their own ways. Python is ideal for beginners as it has an uncluttered syntax that uses simple English keywords. On the other hand, Java is a perfect option for those wishing to develop enterprise-level applications, games, and mobile applications.

Hopefully, we have covered all the major differences between Java and Python in this article. We recommend you choose either of these two languages, depending upon your project needs.

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