Java vs. Python
Java has been a robust programming language since its first release, but with new technologies coming in the market and new programming languages becoming more feasible, it seems to be losing its popularity. One such programming language is Python. Here, we will discuss the features of Java and Python and also draw a comparison between them.
What is Java?
Java is an object-oriented, general purpose programming language (though it is not entirely object-oriented as it contains primitive types). Java codes are platform-independent, meaning java codes can run on any platform which is supporting Java. There is no need for re-compilation of code. Java has become one of the most used languages for client-server applications. Java code are converted to bytecode which runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) irrespective of the computer architecture.
Java was initially developed by James Gosling. He developed it at Sun Microsystems which got later acquired by Oracle. Java was first released in 1995. The latest versions in use are java 11 and Java 12.
Features of Java
The main reason why Java came into existence was that the previously used C++ was a bit cumbersome and not very feasible for client-server applications.
Following are the features of Java:
- It is an object-oriented programming language which makes writing code easy.
- Memory allocation takes place at run-time that is why a java program can be compiled even without the main function.
- It is platform independent, which is one of the most significant features of Java. The Java codes are not compiled directly, they are first converted to a bytecode which can be run on any platform which has JVM.
- Java is an interpreted language which means that the Java code compiles and runs simultaneously.
- Java is widely distributed due to its platform independent nature.
What is Python?
Python is an interpreted object-oriented programming language which was released in 1991. It was developed by Python Software Foundation and designed by Guido van Rossum. It is dynamically typed i.e. you need not declare the type of the variable before initializing it. Python also comes up with a variety of libraries which are very trendy for machine learning and data science.
Python serves as a scripting language. Frameworks like Django, pyramid, etc. help in the design and maintenance of several applications. Libraries such as NumPy, SciPy allow Python to be used in scientific computing. Libraries like TensorFlow help you to make machine learning projects.
Features of Python
Python has gained an edge over any other programming language in recent times due to the following functionality it provides which make a handy choice for developers-
- Python is easy to type language. It has got easy syntax and requires a little knowledge of OOP to learn it. Also, it is dynamically typed therefore, you need not define the type of the variables.
- One of the most striking features of Python is that it is free and open-source.
- It is a high-level language, i.e., it is human readable and human understandable.
- It is object-oriented language and follows the object-oriented paradigm making its program to be written easily and increases the reusability of the code.
- It is interpreted language. It is compiled and executed simultaneously line by line and throws an error as soon as it encounters one.
Java vs. Python
One of the heated debates of these times is that which programming language is superior Java or Python. The following content will help you conclude and decide which one is a better option and why. The following would be a drawn comparison between the two and the comparison would be on the following factors-
- Speed
- Code
- Trends
- Salary
| Topic | Java | Python |
|---|---|---|
| Compilation process | Java is both compiled and interpreted language. The source code is first compiled and converted to bytecode, and afterward, it depends on JIM whether the bytecode will be collected or interpreted | Python is an interpreted language, i.e., it is compiled and executed simultaneously line by line. |
| Length of code | The length of the code of java programs is more as compared to that of Python as every program has to be written in a class. For Eg- to write hello world program, the code is- public class HelloWorld { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(“Hello, World”); } } | Python has shorter lines of code as you directly write the code and it gets interpreted. For eg- print(‘Hello, world!’) |
| Complexity of syntax | Java is a statically typed programming language. There are hardcore rules for braces and semi-colon. | Python is dynamically typed and there are no hardcore rules for semi-colon and braces. It works on inundation. |
| Ease of typing | Strongly typed, need to define exact types of variables. | Dynamically typed, no need to define the exact type of variables. |
| Speed | Java is faster as compared to Python. | Python is relatively slow as it is interpreted language and it determines the type of the variable at run time, which makes it slow. |
| Usage | It has been in trend for a long time and is vastly used in Android application development, embedded systems, and web applications. | Data science and machine language are made very simple, using Python. Also, it is being used for web development. |
| Salary trends | The java pay for beginners is less as compared to python beginners, but the trend is changing and python developers are taking that spot. | Python developers are less as compared to Java developers that are why are being paid more. Also, the technicality in the work of python developers is more; that is why they are being paid more. |