Programming languages are the set of instructions required to execute a program in the field of computer science. It helps in building applications that are useful for performing real-world tasks and providing solutions to complex day-to-day problems or solutions to mega problems faced by the human community. Programming languages are divided generally into 2 levels.
1. High-level programming language:
High-level programming language is used for converting the instructions into machine-level understanding.
2. Low-level language
Low-level language involves machine code and assembly language and these are used specifically in hardware etc.
Code is translated or checked through the help of a compiler or interpreter. These languages are further divided into procedural, object-oriented, and natural languages. Python vs Java will be an interesting comparison to know more about these programming languages.
Programming languages are core in the world of mobile, web applications, and websites. Programming language defines the structure and behavior of mobile or web applications. Its basic and advanced features provide the functionality to the target applications. Each language has specialties and drawbacks which are the deciding factors for their particular use in the application.
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Python
It was invented by Guido Van Rossum in 1991. Python is a high-level programming language. In easy terms, It all depends on the layers or stages required to convert it to machine code. Python is a general-purpose programming language that is used widely for its use in different applications. Python is a universal language. It encompasses features such as dynamic binding or late binding or late linkage which means the process of methods or function calls is checked by their name at runtime. Now let’s discuss the pros and cons of the python programming language.
Java
Java was invented by the company Sun Microsystems. It is also known as a general-purpose programming language. Java is the most popular programming language because of the rich features incorporated into it. Java follows an object-oriented class-based approach to implement programs. It is used widely for mobile application development along with the development of web applications and desktop applications etc.
Now discussing and counting over the points between Java and Python, there are a number of differences and commonalities among them. Let’s discuss python vs java in-depth.
Python vs Java
- Java is a highly object oriented programming language used for multiple purposes while Python is a moderate level object oriented programming language which can also be used for multiple purposes.
- Java involves use of complicated syntax for different functionality in a program while python supports simple and easy to understand syntax for different functionalities in a program.
- Code length or line of codes will be a bit longer in JAVA as compared to line of codes in a programme required in python programming language.
- Java can be classified both as an interpreted and compiled programming language. The reason is the java code is first converted into Java byte code then the java byte code is executed on virtual Java runtime environment(JRE) which acts as interpreter for the purpose of execution while Python is purely interpreted programming language which involves checking code at run-time line by line.
- Python is considered as weak in database connectivity because of absence of robust structure while Java programming language has support of JDBC(Java database connectivity) which eases connectivity. It can access or connect to the database faster during programme implementation.
- Java is faster in speed as compared to python. Features such as memory allocation, memory deallocation, object instantiation, synchronization etc makes Java faster than python. But other features such as array creation, string operation, I/O operations are slow in Java as compared to other languages. Python is slow in speed because it is an interpreted programming language which checks code line by line at run time.
- Java is used widely in enterprise applications because of the presence of JDBC ensuring smooth database connectivity for different requests from client side while python does not have any robust feature supporting the needs of enterprise applications.
- Java is statically coded programming language which means the value to the variables must be assigned after the declaration of variable while python is dynamically coded programming language which means the values can be assigned to the variables at the time of declaration.
- The Java has a bit higher maintenance cost because of its complex structure and moreline of code while the cost of maintenance is low in python.
- Java has bit less support of libraries required in machine learning such as Weka, Deeplearning4j, etc while python supports more machine learning related libraries such as PyTorch, Pandas, Keras, Matplotlib, Scipy, theano etc.
Java is best for the following purpose
- Mobile applications development
- Desktop applications development
- Enterprise applications development
- Applets (small web programs) development
- Flexible applications
Python is best for the following purposes
- Machine learning applications development
- Data science
- Small applications development
Note – Python can be integrated with Java
Both languages have their own pros and cons. We can’t define which one is better based on multiple paradigms. It’s better to say that both programming languages have their own preferred usability area which ultimately optimizes their use in that platform.
For example, Java is used widely for mobile application development while python is widely used for machine learning-related applications development and data science.
Java has been understood to be a complex language since its inception because it involves complex code structure. It is a highly object-oriented programming language which involves use of classes, objects up to a high extent. The syntax of code is also a bit more complex. In the case of python, the code structure is simple and it involves simpler syntax. It is an easily human-readable language and simple to deal with code generation and manipulation. Both languages can be used in different applications depending upon the need of the application.