Python or JavaScript is better? Which one is more popular? What projects use JavaScript or Python?
In this article, we will compare two very popular and powerful programming languages, Python and JavaScript. Each of these two languages has its advantages, which makes it difficult for developers to choose. This article will help you make the best decision for your projects.
Table of Contents
Python or JavaScript is better?
We start with a general introduction to Python. It is one of the most popular and practical programming languages in the world. There are several reasons why programmers prefer to use Python. This language has a simple design and high readability. Also, Python has a very wide set of libraries and various tools that help speed up programming.
Key features of Python
- Fast development and easy coding.
- A wide range of libraries,
- free and open source,
- object-oriented programming language
- A large community of developers.
- facilitating complex programming operations,
- Ideal for software prototyping or production-ready apps.
The following major companies use Python:
- Instagram,
- Spotify,
- Google,
- Netflix,
Java Script
JavaScript is known as a popular programming language for website and web app development. This language can run in web browsers and allows programmers to run JavaScript code on web pages. Developers use JavaScript to create dynamic and dynamic interactions on websites and provide a better user experience for visitors. In addition, JavaScript is also used in areas such as web game development and mobile applications.
- providing interactive elements on web pages,
- object-oriented programming language
- The ability to control and change all web page components through the DOM.
- Applicable on the server and client side.
Big companies that use JavaScript:
- Microsoft,
- Uber,
- Facebook,
- PayPal,
Comparison of Python and JavaScript
These two programming languages should not be considered substitutes for each other. It is possible to use both together and take advantage of the capabilities of each to improve programming projects. For example, Instagram uses JavaScript for the client side and Python for the server side to handle its high traffic in the best possible way.
However, if you want to choose a winner between these two languages, you should consider the following key factors:
1. Speed and performance
The main purpose of using JavaScript is to improve the speed of user interaction with the web. Due to features such as multithreading support in Node.js, this language is relatively faster, especially for back-end development in the software development industry.
But Python is an excellent tool for large-scale data processing, CPU-intensive projects, and large-scale data processing. If developers can optimize Python code using tools such as Cython or NumPy, the performance of applications will improve.
2. Popularity rate
Python and JavaScript have always been more popular than other programming languages. Because each of these languages has influenced a certain group of developers depending on their field of activity and projects. However, if we want to take an unbiased view, the rate of growth of Python’s popularity has been faster than that of JavaScript. Different reliable sources have provided different statistics about the popularity of these two programming languages.
For example, according to a 2022 Stack Overflow survey, JavaScript is the most commonly used programming language.
On the other hand, the PYPL 2022 index has shown that Python is the best programming language and has moved JavaScript to third place.
According to the TIOBE index in 2022, Python has retained the top position, surpassing Java, C, and JavaScript.
3. Scalability
In programming, scalability refers to the ability of an application or system to continue to function properly as the workload or number of users increases. This feature is different in different languages:
JavaScript language has a multi-threaded execution environment. In the sense that it can run several processes at the same time. This feature allows JavaScript applications to be easily scalable, and application performance does not degrade as the number of threads and processes increases.
Python uses a global interpreter lock called GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) that does not allow multiple threads to run at the same time. This may reduce the scalability of Python programs, especially in programs that make extensive use of threads for concurrent processing. However, various libraries such as Dask and Joblib are used to distribute work and improve scalability.
4. Learning curve
It might seem at first that learning JavaScript is faster than Python, but it’s not. People may pick up on basic JS concepts quickly, but it takes more time and practice to master it. So mastering JavaScript is relatively more difficult. This language has more complex structures that may be difficult for beginner programmers. Because of this complex structure and the higher number of code lines, usually, the process of code debugging and project development is done at a lower speed.
On the other hand, Python is known as a programming language that is very suitable and understandable for beginners, and learning it happens faster. Because of its simple code structure, Python requires fewer lines of code to perform various tasks. Python code is readable and understandable, which makes it easy for even novice programmers to understand other people’s code. Defining functions and variables in Python is very simple. In addition, the development of Python projects happens at a higher speed.
5. The concept of inheritance
Inheritance is one of the fundamental principles in object-oriented programming, and it means that a class can inherit properties defined in another class (parent class). By doing this, you avoid writing duplicate codes.
JavaScript does not fully support the concept of inheritance. Instead, JavaScript uses a prototype-based model. This means that properties of objects that are defined as prototypes in JavaScript can be transferred to other objects. This structure gives programmers more flexibility but is conceptually different from inheritance.
In contrast, Python, as an object-oriented programming language, fully supports the concept of inheritance using the structure of classes.
6. Modules and libraries
In Python, modules and libraries are an important part of the language and allow developers to import ready-made code and useful functions into their projects. Python has an extensive collection of modules and libraries that are used for a variety of tasks such as data analysis, machine learning, etc. This allows developers to speed up programming.
JavaScript, which is commonly used in the browser environment for web development, has far fewer built-in modules compared to Python. In other words, in JavaScript, the number of ready-made modules and libraries is more limited. However, developers can create new modules and libraries specifically for their projects and use them in their JavaScript code.
7. Numerical data
In Python and JavaScript, the handling of numeric data is different: In Python, you can work with all types of numeric data, including integers, floats, and fixed-point decimals. This allows programmers to perform numerical calculations more accurately.
JavaScript includes more limited numeric data, with the most focus on decimal numbers (numbers with decimals), and other numeric data types are less common.
8. Implicit Conversion
Implicit conversion in programming means the automatic conversion of one type of data to another type without the need for explicit notification from the programmer. Programming languages perform these conversions automatically according to the operational needs of the application.
JavaScript allows variables to be implicitly converted from one type to another.
In Python, the data type of the variables must be defined and implicit conversion is not possible.
9. Development of web and mobile applications
The main purpose of JavaScript is to develop web applications. Although it can also be used to develop mobile apps, it is usually used as a side programming language using frameworks such as React Native or NativeScript.
Python is also suitable for web development but may take more time to respond to requests. However, web development in Python can be improved by using web development frameworks such as Django, Pyramid, and Flask. Python also didn’t originally support developing native-looking mobile apps, but now it’s possible to develop graphical user interface (GUI) apps with Python.