Python vs Java: What’s The Difference?

The popularity of Python has surpassed that of Java. According to Google Trends, Python was more popular than Java in 2017:

The trend is likely caused because of Python’s great use for experimentation, and Java’s better use for production code. There is more experimentation than production code.

Java is a statically typed and compiled language, and Python is a dynamically typed and interpreted language. This single difference makes Java faster at runtime and easier to debug, but Python is easier to use and easier to read.

Python has gained popularity, in large part, due to its communicativeness; people just grasp it easier. With it, the libraries for Python are immense, so a new programmer will not have to start from scratch. Java is old and still widely used, so it also has a lot of libraries and a community for support.

Now, let’s take a look at these in-depth, including some code examples to illustrate the differences between Python and Java.

When to use Python

Python’s libraries allow a programmer to get started quickly. Rarely will they need to start from scratch. If a programmer wishes to jump into machine learning, there’s a library for that. If they wish to create a pretty chart, there’s a library for that. If they wish to have a progress bar shown in their CLI, there’s a library for that.

Generally, Python is the Lego of the programming languages; find a box with instructions on how to use it and get to work. There is little that needs to be started from scratch.

When to use Java

Java is designed to run anywhere. It uses its Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to interpret compiled code. The JVM acts as its own interpreter and error detector.

With its ties to Sun Microsystems, Java was the most widely used server-side language. Though no longer the case, Java reigned for a long while and garnered a large community, so it continues to have a lot of support.

Programming in Java can be easy because Java has many libraries built on top of it, making it easy to find code already written for a specific purpose.

Who uses Python & Java?

Python is often used with new programmers or junior developers entering a data science role. The big machine learning libraries, TensorFlow and PyTorch, are both written in Python. Python has excellent data processing libraries with Pandas and Dask, and good data visualization capabilities with packages such as Matplotlib and Seaborn.

Java is used a lot for web development. It is more common among senior-level programmers. It allows for asynchronous programming and has a decent Natural Language Processing community.

Both languages can be used in API interactions and for machine learning. Java is better developed for building web applications. Python’s Flask library is still only able to build the basics to a Python-based UI but is great for creating a Python back-end with an API endpoint.

Learn both Java & Python

Both programming languages are suitable for many people and have large communities behind them. Learning one does not mean you can’t learn the other—many programmers venture into multiple languages. And learning multiple languages can reinforce the understanding of programming languages altogether.