Difference between Python and Scala
The two most popular languages of programming for Big Data, Data Science, and Cluster processing are Python and Scala. Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language that is interpreted. It’s a dynamically structured programming language. It supports several programming frameworks, including object-oriented, functional, and procedural models, and includes a user interface for numerous operating system calls.
In addition to being an object-oriented coding language, Scala was also developed as a functional language. It’s being used to facilitate functional programming and a robust static class system. Scala combines the words ‘scalable’ and ‘language’ because it can scale up or down depending on the volume of users, and everything is a statement here. It combines the properties of object-oriented & functional languages seamlessly.
What is Python?
Python is an interpreted, high-level, object-oriented, dynamically coded language of programming that is among the most prominent alternatives for mainstream software engineering. It works with a variety of programming frameworks, even including object-oriented and procedural coding.
It’s flexible, which allows it to be readily combined with other platforms, and it’s open-source software, which implies it’s freely accessible to use and has a big global network of programmers collaborating on its development.
Python, together with JavaScript and Ruby, is an interpreted programming language among the most popular alternatives for contemporary software development.
What is Scala?
Scala is a statically structured language, implying object and variable types must be declared within the language. It’s a multi-paradigm scripting language that handles object-oriented programming and has more sophisticated functional capabilities, including immutability, currying, and sluggish analysis.
It was created for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and one of its advantages is that it makes interacting with Java code relatively simple. Scala’s static typing makes it easier for programmers to avoid errors in complicated projects, whereas JVM allows for the creation of high-performance platforms with accessibility to a large library.
Users may have seen some distinctions based on those descriptions, but let’s dig deeper to learn about the advantages and disadvantages and how Python and Scala contrast.
Table of Comparisons between Python and Scala
Below is a list of comparative points between Python and Scala.
| Ground of Comparison | Python | Scala |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Definition | We don’t require identifying objects because Python is a dynamic Object Oriented language. | We must declare the data type of the variable and objects in Scala because it is a statically typed Object – Orientated programming language. |
| PerformanceBecause | Python is a dynamically typed scripting language, the interpreter has to do additional work at runtime. During runtime, it has to decide on the data types. | Scala is ten times quicker than Python since it is a statically typed language that uses, as discussed above, the JVM. As a result, Scala must be chosen rather than Python when dealing with huge data processes. |
| Platform | Many operating system calls and packages have Python interfaces. It has a large number of interpreters. | Scala is built on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and hence, the source code of Scala is compiled into Java Byte Codes, which the JVM then runs. It’s a compiled language, which means that every code is first compiled and then executed. |
| Simplicity | Python is a simple language to study and use. Its popularity stems from its English-like syntax. Python makes it simple for programmers to write code. | Scala is easier to pick up than Python. On the other hand, Scala plays a far larger and more vital role in scalable systems than Python. |
| Concurrency | Python does not enable multithreading in the traditional sense, but it offers heavyweight system forking. | Scala offers many asynchronous packages and reactive features. |
| Type of Safety | Python is a dynamically typed language prone to problems if the current code is modified. It can, however, be utilized for small-scale tasks, but it lacks scalable functionality support. | Scala is a statically typed programming language with a built-in interface for detecting compile-time mistakes. As a result |
| Testing | Python’s testing procedure and approaches are substantially more sophisticated because it is a dynamically typed programming language. | Scala is a statically typed programming language, which makes testing much easier. |
| Support | In comparison to Scala, Python has a much larger network. | Both are free software, and Scala has a thriving community. However, it is still inferior to Python. |
| Advanced Features | Python includes data science packages and modules for machine learning & natural language processing (NLP). | Scala doesn’t provide many tools for machine learning and natural language processing.Existential types, macros, and implicits are all available in Scala. Compared to standard functions, the syntax for advanced functionality may be a bit more difficult. |