Java and Python has been found out to be the second and third most popular languages respectively for the fourth year in a row according to GitHub’s annual Octoverse report. Similarly, Digital Ocean’s recent language survey has put Python at number two on their list of programming languages for different open source projects and Java being fourth in place with only half the adoption of Python.

Furthermore, it was found out that Python is also considered to be one of the top ten fastest growing languages. It is because majority of the other fast-gainers are new languages and Python on the other hand has been around longer than Java. The TIOBE index has place Java at the top of their list whilst putting Python at number three.

As you can see from the above, the two languages Python vs Java are quite popular and aren’t going anywhere. So the question is which one you should be choosing. In this article, you shall find a detailed comparison between Java vs Python. By understanding what both languages has to offer, you will get a clear picture of what to do and which one to choose and how to use it. So let us take a look at this detailed comparison between the Java vs Python.

Difference between Python and Java
Python Overview
Java Overview
Main Difference
When should Python be Used
When should Java be Used
Graphical Representation
Who uses Python
Final Thoughts

Difference between Python and Java:

Below are the obvious differences between Python and Java.

Python Overview:

Python is a programming language that was first released in the year 1991. This is an interpreted, high-level, and general purpose programming language and also considered object-oriented. Python was designed by Guido Van Rossum and it actually has a design philosophy that is centered on code readability. The Python community this can grade each other’s code on the basis of what the Pythonic code is. You might also be interested in free Python Bootcamp at our platform.

Java Overview:

Java on the other hand is quite old and is a general-purpose programming language which utilizes classes and is object-oriented like Python. This programming language has been developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in the year 1995 which was released as a part of Sun Microsystem’s Java platform. What Java did is transform the web experience from simple text pages to pages through videos and animations.

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Main Difference:

The clearest difference between the two Python vs Java is that Python is a dynamically typed and interpreted language whereas Java is a statistically typed and compiled language. Python is easier to use and read and on the other hand, Java is faster at runtime and very easy to debug.

When should Python be Used?

Python’s efficient libraries enable a programmer to get started quickly. This means that it is quite rare if any programmer has to start from scratch. Now if a programmer for any reason wishes to jump into machine learning then there is also a library for that to make it happen. And if a programmer wants to create a pretty chart then there is a library for this purpose as well. Similarly, if a programmer wants to have a progress bar shown in their CLI, then there is a library for that purpose as well. Explore Python tutorials at Khan Academy to kickstart your coding journey.”

You can consider Python to be the Lego of programming languages. All you have to do is find a box with instructions on it regarding how to use it and then get to work immediately. In short, what we are trying to say is that there is very little that needs to be started from scratch. Enhance your machine learning skills with these recommended free Python courses, carefully selected to provide you with the necessary tools and techniques to excel in the field.

Python is great for the following because of its readability.

It is suitable for new programmers.
It helps to get down to ideas fast.
You can share code with others very easily.
So you see, Python has a lot to offer to its programmers.

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When should Java be Used?

Java has been designed to run anywhere no matter what. It used its Java Virtual Machine (IVM) for interpreting compiled code. The Java Virtual Machine acts as its own interpreter. With that, it is also acts as error detector. Having ties to Sun Microsystems. Java was known to be the most widely used server-side language. Even though it is no longer the case, yet Java managed to reign for a long while and garnered a large community and that is why it continues to have a lot of support. Learn Java Unit Testing with Junit & Mockito in 30 Steps for improve your skills in java.

Programming in Java has found out to e quite easy. It is because Java has quite many libraries that are built on top of it thereby making it easy to find code that are already written for a specific purpose.

Graphical Representation:

Python was able to gain popularity in large part only because of its communicativity and that people could just grasp it easily. The libraries with Python are so immense that any new programmer will never have to start from scratch. On the other hand, Java is old but it is also widely used. This means that it also has a lot of libraries and a community for support.

Python has somehow managed to become more popular than Java. And to support our argument, we present to you this graph which will give you a clear picture of the situation. This graph by Google Trends clearly shows that Python’s fame manage to rose above Java in the year 2017.

google trends

The reason behind this trend is because Python is great use for experimentation and Java is better use for production code. And there is more experimentation than production code and thus Python is more popular than Java.

Who uses Python?

Python is mostly used by new programmers. But junior developers who are just entering a data science role same like new programmers also prefer to use Python. Whereas Java is used by programmers for web development purpose. This programming language is mostly used by senior-level programmers. It allows them asynchronous programming and has a decent Natural Language processing Community.

Final Thoughts

The above discussion can only be concluded by saying that both the languages Python vs Java are quite aggressive and used by thousands of millions of programmers. So we can’t just say that one of the two programming languages is the best because both are.

Python Vs Java