Ayy how is it going, guys? I know it’s been a long time. I am actually learning a lot of stuff myself. But today, I am going to compare our favorite all-purpose programming language, Python vs Golang one of the better, upcoming languages.
We are going to look at this from several perspectives, and come to a more definite conclusion by the end of this article.
So let the battle begin – Python vs Golang, a quick comparison to help you choose better!
Python vs Golang – A Quick Look
While both languages are very easy to learn and are easy to start with, there are some key differences that you must know before choosing between Python and Go.
| Python | Golang |
|---|---|
| Created with an object-oriented programming focus | Can be used as an object-oriented language, but isn’t built with that in mind |
| Slower execution as Python is an interpreted language | Much faster as the language is compiled |
| Python is a dynamically typed language | Golang is a statically typed language |
| Does not support concurrency | Offers complete support for concurrency |
| Has a large support community in the open-source world | Golang is still catching up in the community department |
Let’s understand the differences and the nifty nuances of both Python and Golang in further detail.
Fundamentals behind the creation of both the languages
Before we dive into comparing the languages, we need to understand the reason behind developing both of these programming languages.
Most programming languages aren’t created for fun.
They serve some kind of purpose. The question we need to ask is, what is the purpose each language serves?
Purpose of developing Python
Python was generally developed as a teaching tool.
C was already very popular but cumbersome to form logic, and Java being very verbose (which means you have to type a lot of stuff) was used only by experts after years of study.
So Python was developed with an easy to write and easy to understand POV. It is quite easy to pick up and code without getting into long, difficult logic.
As a programming language, Python is a powerhouse, and no one denies it.
A brief look at PyPI, the official third-party module Python kit tracker, lists 276,979 projects and counting, from website creation to computer science and even quantum programming.
There’s currently no replacement for Python as a programming language. The ease of use and flow is second to none.
For data science and software development purposes, Python is a wonderful language.
Purpose of developing Golang
Golang, released to the public in 2009, is a relatively new programming language. It was created by Google to address Google-sized issues.
As handy as Python is with all it’s supporters helping it grow, there’s one area where it doesn’t really have the capacity to overcome.
And that, my friends, is concurrency.
Let me explain what concurrency is real quick before we move on!
In layman’s terms, Concurrency is the ability to perform multiple parts or units of a program, algorithm, or problem out-of-order or in a partial order, without impacting the final result.
This encourages concurrent units to be executed in parallel, which can greatly increase the total execution speed in multi-processor and multi-core systems.
It relates to a program, algorithm, or problem’s decomposability property into order-independent or partly-ordered components or units.
Python vs Go – Syntax
The syntax for Python and Golang has some similarities, as do many other programming languages.
If, say, we compare a Golang program:
package main
import "fmt"
func function_name(x int32){
...
}
func main(){
x := 10
function_name(x)
}
then at a glance, we see the similarities with a similar program in Python:
import numpy as np
def function_name(*args, **kwargs):
...
...
function_name(x)
One of the obvious parts is the use of curly braces to explicitly display the beginning and the end of the blocks in Golang vs in Python where we use indentation.
Final say
Choosing the right language for your coding can mean the difference between an efficient program and a program that requires a lot of maintenance.
If your main purpose of building a tool is speed and scalability, Golang is your best bet. It’s the closest language that comes to C/C++ speeds while being very easy to use, and also ridding you of the manual memory management.
However, if you want to create scripts and tools that function efficiently while encouraging readability across teams, you won’t go wrong with Python. The language reads like regular English and can be understood by even programmers who haven’t used Python before.
The indented blocks make the code look pretty by default, and encourage clean coding. And the millions of libraries available for free reduce the number of lines you have to use within your code.
