Python vs Java in 2021: Should I Learn Python or Java?

Python Vs Java: Difference

If you are new to the computer language world, Java and Python are programming languages that enable programmers to communicate with the computer to fulfil specific tasks.

Now, if you happen to have any previous experience in the field of information technology or coding then the words Java and Python need no reminding. Considered to be the best in the game, both Java and Python are the most popular and sought-after programming languages in the current market.

The latest July 2021 TIOBE index, an index that rates and ranks the demand in different programming languages, ranks Java in second place and Python in third place, further cementing the hold these two have and will have in the programming landscape.

Now, the major question for aspiring developers and programmers is “Java or Python?”. In the following blog, we will give an insight into both these languages, so you know which language better suits your goals.

 1. Java – Overview

Created and released by Sun Microsoft in the year 1995 and later acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2009, Java is a high-level and object-oriented programming language that was designed to have a few implementations dependencies as possible.

The language soon began to gain its deserved attention due to its easy-to-write, compile, learn, and debug nature, coupled with its highly secure and platform-independent attributes. Soon, Java became a king in the coding space.

The first-ever TIOBE index ever published in the year 2001, ranked Java in the number 1 spot and ever since, it has always been in the top three spaces. Java being a general-purpose language is frequently used to develop big data, research, web, desktop, and even android applications.

2. Python – Overview

Python was designed and released in the 1980s, much before the release of Java. Spearheaded by Guido Van Rossum, Python was a project taken over as a successor to the ABC programme language. It was designed to act as a tool to enable exception handling and interfacing with the then Amoeba operating system to make code easier to read.

Even though implemented in 1989, Python began to be seen as an efficient and robust programming language only in the last decade. Programmers and developers were impressed by the language’s easy-to-learn, user, and beginner-friendly attributes. It soon gained momentum in the market.

Its sudden and rapid rise last decade makes it one of the or if not the fastest-growing languages in demand. Python’s dynamic, platform-independent and general-purpose language qualities make it a programming language that can be used in a wide range of software developments. It is mostly used in the development of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and GUI-based applications.

Python Vs Java: Parameters for Comparison

Both Java and Python are very similar. Both are high-level, general-purpose programming languages, built to have strong cross-platform support and an easy-to-use in-built extensive library. Moreover, both are object-oriented.

Buy technically, Java and Python are very different and uniquely set apart from each other. Below-mentioned parameters will allow us to have a clear-cut comparison between the two.

One of the significant differences between Java and Python is how each of them compiles code. Both the programming languages are run by compiling bytecode, running them on virtual machines, making them platform-independent. But there’s one critical difference.

Java is a statically typed programming language that comes with its very own compiler called the Just in Time (JIT) compiler. It is this component that improves the performance of Java as it compiles bytecode to native machine code in run time.

Python is a bit different. While Java is more of a compiled language, Python is considered an interpreted language. This means that the code and in a deeper sense the variables are considered and determined during compile time which can slow down the entire program. Moreover, with Python being a dynamically-typed language, it sometimes struggles to comply with different platforms.

When it comes to code readability, both Java and Python were designed to easily read, learn, and understand code. But as mentioned above, Java is statically-typed, while Python’s a dynamically-typed language for programming. This means, in Java, you have to compulsorily declare variables explicitly. In Python, you don’t need to. This makes their syntax very different from each other. Python’s syntax is a lot simpler and more concise, making it a lot easier to read.  

A library in a programming language is a collection of prewritten code that can be used to optimize various tasks. Both Java and Python come with a very useful set of extensive libraries. But compared to each other though, with around 130,000 different collections and pre-written routines to choose from, Python has a much larger and comprehensive library. Additionally, Python has exclusive libraries that render text, image, and web processing programs.

Java also has a good collection when it comes to its standard library and it also supports third-party libraries but Python is way ahead of Java in this parameter of comparison.

Python, since its release in the late 1980s, was designed so it would be easy to read and understand. Its simple syntax makes its learning curve for beginners a lot easier and its intuitive user interface makes coding an enjoyable experience.

In Java, the coder is required to declare variables and this makes the entire syntax lengthy. The additional code can be a put-off for many beginners and with Python’s similar ability to develop and build almost anything with a comparatively shorter and easier to read and understand code, this language is becoming a lot more popular in the academic world.

Before the JavaScript programming language was introduced, Java was the most popular programming language. Its popularity began gaining momentum in the early 2000s and has since solidified its rank among the most in-demand programming languages. It is also said that the founders of JavaScript decided to choose a name that resembles Java in a bid to gain popularity.

Python, only late last decade, began to get recognised and is now according to a survey conducted by Stackoverflow in 2018 the fastest-growing programming language. In GitHub’s State of Octoverse report 2019, Python for the first time overtook Java as the most popular language, ranking just below JavaScript.

As mentioned earlier, when writing a code in Java, it is required to declare all the variables as it follows very strict syntax rules. If there is a single missing variable, the code will not even compile. Python is a dynamically-typed language, which means that you don’t need to declare variables as the interpreter will automatically infer the variable types. This makes the syntax of Python a lot easier to read and learn as compared to Java.

Both Java and Python are general-purpose programming languages that can be used to develop big data, large-scale applications. But Python began to gain traction because it was syntactically very easy as compared to Java. People from different backgrounds found it easier to work with it.

Machine Learning became a lot simpler to understand and experiment in Python and coupled with its many extensive and useful libraries like TensorFlow, Keras, Sklearn, etc., it became the very reason why a lot of development in AI and Machine Learning is done with the use of this programming language.

Java on the other hand is also a very good option when it comes to Machine Learning due to its easy to debug and use characteristics. Java also uses third-party libraries when working with machine learning, some of the popular ones are Weka, Mallet, and MOA, but as compared to the libraries Python uses, the Java third-party libraries are very limited.

When it comes to game development, C++/C# is miles ahead of Java or Python. Game development requires languages with the best possible performance and while both Java and Python are not that slow when it comes to performance, they do not come close to the experience provided by C++/C#.

Now that doesn’t mean that developers haven’t used these languages to design and develop games. Java’s JMonkeyEngine is an open-source game development engine that is widely used among game developers to create fairly powerful games.

Python is also becoming a popular option for game developers due to its compatibility with powerful engines and frameworks like Cocoa, Pygame, Panda3d, and many more.

Java vs Python: Comparison Table

To better understand the differences and comparisons between these two programming languages, down below is a concise comparison table.

Parameter  Python Java
  1. Syntax
 Easy to read and understand, Concise Difficult to read and remember,

Complex
2.            Performance Slower Faster
3.            Type of Language Interpreted language Compiled language
4.            Typing Dynamically-typed Statically-typed
5.            Line of Code Less line of code More line of code
6.            Learning curve Easy to learn Difficult to learn
7.            Used best for Machine learning, AI and GUI applications Big data, enterprise level, embedded applications
8.            Machine Learning libraries TensorFlow, Keras, Sklearn, Pytorch Weka, Mallet, MOA, Deeplearning4j
9.            Game Development Engines Coco, Pygame, Panda3d JMonkeyEngine
10.         Example public class SayHello

{

public static void main (String args[])

{

System.out.println(“Hello”);

}

}

 print(“Hello”)

Python Vs Java: Which is Better?

If we have to take reference from the above-mentioned parameters of comparison it becomes a difficult task to decide which programming language outperforms the other. Both Java and Python are widely used powerful languages that have their pros and cons.

While Java is still considered a king in the coding world, Python, over the last few years, has not only closed the gap between but also overtaken Java as the most popularly used programming language.

In the end, it all depends on the type of program or application you want to develop. And additionally, your prior experience with programming. If you are new to coding and developing, Python no doubt is the best of the two to go with due to its simple syntax and easier learning curve.

Java Vs Python Developer Salary in India

Both Java and Python are big names when it comes to large I.T. companies due to their general-purpose characteristics. A lot of well-established I.T. companies still stick with Java due to its capability to develop big data, enterprise-level, and mobile applications. Python has become popular amongst the latest technology companies due to its easy use in Machine Learning, Artificial intelligence, and Data Science.

Both provide scope for careers that pay extremely well. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a python developer in India is INR 5.10 lakh per annum, and the average salary for a java developer in India is INR 4,43 lakh per annum.

 Python Vs Java: FAQs

The following FAQs will give you important information on both Java and Python and give you deeper understanding of where both stand in popularity.

Q1: When to Use Python Vs Java?

Both Java and Python are general-purpose programming languages that can be used in a wide range of application development. Both the languages have their perks and limitations and it is of utmost importance to understand which of the languages best suits a specific project.

Java is best used if you want to develop web and mobile, mainly android applications, and is a popular tool for server applications in financial and banking services.

Python meanwhile as a programming language works best when developing the latest technological applications related to Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence.

Q2: How much time is required for learning java vs python?

Python is considered to be one of the easiest programming languages to learn. Due to its concise and easy-to-read and understandable syntax, Python makes a great option for coding beginners. Moreover, due to its extensive libraries and user-friendly features, it makes for a simpler learning curve and the basics of Python can be learned in a week or two.

Java on the other hand is known to be a complex programming language. It is a difficult language to read and understand and for a beginner in programming it can take about a year to fully grasp the basics and its functionalities.

Q3: Is python a good choice for web development vs java?

When it comes to web development, Java takes a slight advantage here. Both the languages are confined to the back-end server space which means that they are responsible for developing the software that can work flawlessly on the particular server. Back-end development from scratch can be a complicated and daunting task and that is why developers have created frameworks to help assist them with these projects.

This is where Java is a go-to option due to the availability of a variety of platforms for back-end development work. This provides you with a plethora of options to choose from depending on the task up ahead. A good example is Spring which has a massive ecosystem and is used by Orange, Dell, and other big enterprises. Python’s most popular back-end development framework is Django.

 Q4: What should I learn Python vs Java?

Both Python and Java have widely used programming languages, each having its focus and functionalities. Python is becoming very popular among the latest technological developments due to its use in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. And as advancements continue in the AI and data science fields, learning Python can be strategically a very good choice. Additionally, it is a very easy language to learn and work with.

Java can be a complicated language to learn but even after a good 20- 25 years, the language still resides on the top-tier of programming languages. But compared to Python, it is a lot easier to compile, debug and analyse code over on Java. And additionally, Java is still the best-suited option if you are looking at mobile, mainly android application development. But for a beginner in programming, Python is simply the best.

Summary

After going through the comparisons and various parameters. Which do you think best suits you? As mentioned earlier both Java and Python are highly efficient and powerful programming languages. Both have their unique plus points and also limitations. While they both look to provide general-purpose functionality; it is important if you want to work effectively to choose the one that is best suited for the particular project. With rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence and text-and-image processing, Python can be the centre of many of those technological developments.

If you are a newbie in coding and programming then we would suggest learning Python before Java. We provide a certified Python course in Pune which not only covers the basics but also looks to provide in-depth conceptual and practical information on various related topics like data handling and API concepts. Our program also looks to make you industry-ready by practically working on real-time projects.

The program has 18-24 lectures and goes through a total time duration of 60 hours.

To register and know more about our Python training program visit the link, and fill out the enquiry form.

 

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