Java v/s Python – Which is a better programming language?
Java and Python
Java and Python are both excellent choices for a
beginning programmer. You really can’t go wrong by choosing either one. Here
are some things these languages have in common.
·
Both are popular and in high demand.
·
Both are open source and don’t require a paid license to
use for developers. In the case of Java, if you use the official Oracle
Java version, there may be a fee for commercial use payable by your
customer/employer when deploying your Java application. However, there
are free runtime versions available from multiple vendors as well.
·
You can get started coding in either language today as
long as you have an internet connection to download the installation files and
a computer that runs Windows, OS X, or Linux.
The two languages do have their differences, and
developers sometimes prefer one or the other for various reasons. Below is a
discussion of those reasons, with hopefully enough information to help you
decide which language is the one for you.
Learning
curve and readability
This
factor matters to a lot of developers when they are beginning. How easy is the
programming language to read and learn? And the answer is: It depends.
Java:
The learning curve for anything depends on what you already know, how
interested you are in learning the topic, and the learning environment. For
example, if you have already done some type of coding or scripting, even if it
is pasting some JavaScript into a web page, you may be familiar with the code
structure you will run into with a language like Java. Java also supports
multiple programming paradigms, including object-oriented programming and
functional programming. Writing code in Java is heavily tied to using classes
and then using those classes to create objects.
Although possible, it’s not a language that you would generally use for
a simple one-off script.
Python:
If you are a beginner and find the code above hard to read, then Python may be
a good choice. Readability is only one of this language’s claims to fame. If
you never programmed before, Python code is usually easier to read. You can
also use simpler code structures to get the result you want. For this reason,
it is a very popular language for writing quick scripts. It is also used widely
in the scientific community, where the programming language is just considered
another tool to use, not a career choice. Python is also a multi paradigm
language. It supports object-oriented programming, functional programming, and
procedural programming, and you can use all of these paradigms in the same
application. This means you can customize parts of your application to their
functionality instead of relying on just one programming paradigm.
Types
Another
difference is in the way both languages handle types. In short, Java is
statically typed, while Python is dynamically typed.
Java:
In Java, when you create an object, you always need to specify its type. For
example, let’s say we want to create an integer and a String type. You must explicitly
specify the type for each one:
int
var1 = 12
String
var2 = "Hello World";
Once
variables in Java initialize, we cannot assign any other value that doesn’t
match their original type. Going off the example above, var1, an integer, can
never be assigned a String like “Hello World.” This might seem restrictive on
some levels, but your code will naturally be less prone to errors, as the
restriction will catch any typos or mistakes while the code is compiling.
Python: Variables in
Python are strongly but dynamically typed, meaning any variable can take on any
type — it doesn’t matter. For example:
x = 10 + 12
x =
"Hello World"
The
above statements are totally legal in Python. The reason for this is Python’s
interpreter, which reads and handles variables as they come. Because Python
interprets your code, it doesn’t have the typing checks that Java would have.
This lack of restriction can be pretty convenient, but accidentally using
variables as the wrong type can also cause a lot of issues while your program
is running, so it’s a trade-off.
Building and
running
A
big difference between Java and Python is how both languages are built and run.
Java: Once your code
is ready in Java, you need to compile it into Java Bytecode in order to be able
to execute the code. The build output (or the artifact) of your code comes in
the form of .class files.In order to execute a .class file, you need a Java
RunTime Environment (JRE) installed on that computer. A .class file can
execute on any platform that has a version of the JRE, and almost all modern
operating systems have a version available.
You
can also build your project as a .jar file that conveniently packages up your
.class files and there are commercial products that make it possible to package
the code into an executable format. As mentioned, a .java file won’t do you
much good because they need to compile it first into a .class file. In
order to do this, you need to have the Java Development Kit (JDK) installed which
includes the Java compiler. So in a nutshell, Java code needs to be compiled
into Java Bytecode in the form of a .class file to then execute under the JRE. There
are a lot of steps to set up your program.
Python:
Python, on the other hand, is a scripting language. When you code a .py file,
you don’t need to compile the code before running it. For Python, and other
scripting languages as well, you need an interpreter to run your code. You can
download Python’s interpreter from its official website. When you launch the
Python interpreter, it will display a prompt where you can input lines of
Python code and present results for each line. While you can compile Python
into .pyc files, which allows the interpreter to run your program more
efficiently, you aren’t required to in order to build your project. Once you
code something in Python, you just need to run the interpreter with your .py
file, and that’s it! Both languages are cross-platform, so you can run them on
Windows, OS X, Linux, and other platforms.
Conclusion
You
can’t really go wrong with either choice. You will find many tutorials and much
support, no matter which language you choose. If you are new to programming
languages, then Python may be an excellent choice. Many beginning programmers
say that the syntax is more like a regular language and is easier to
understand. If you want to get into enterprise development, then you may want
to take a look at Java. It all comes down to what you prefer. Try each language
and form your own opinion. And it never hurts to learn both eventually.
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