Well, the debate is heaten d at this moment. While many golang development companies and developers are transitioning from Python to Golang, a few have taken upon themselves to save the face of Python. To be honest, there are no clear-cut winners, as both the languages have unique purposes and requirements. In this blog, we will take a look at the comparison between these two majorly used programming languages.
We will be discussing on the basis of various parameters. In some cases, Golang will be victorious, whereas in other cases, Python will reign supreme. Every point has been lucidly explained, so follow along!
Paradigm
- Python is an object-oriented, functional and reflective language. On the other hand, Golang programming language is not object-oriented, rather procedural, concurrent (CSP-style concurrency), and functional.
- Golang is a statically typed language and it uses a compiler. On the contrary, Python is a dynamically typed language and it uses an interpreter. Thus, the compiler catches the errors during compile time which saves you from unpleasant glitches in the case of a big program.
Web Development
- Developers have used Python for web development, courtesy the huge libraries and the feature-rich language. But, the sheer raw performance and speed of Golang is too much for Python. Golang is dominant when it comes to writing server-side scripts. And it provides rapid development cycles in comparison to Python.
- Golang, with its concurrency and parallelism, outclasses Python for web development. Golang is superior to Python in saving memory and resources, whereas Python calls for increased top resources in order to use the concurrency process.
- Being lightweight and having a quick start-up time, Golang is ideal for backend development. Thus, Golang, and not Python, is used by developers who wish to design websites in a quick span of time.
Readability
- When it comes to readability, both Golang and Python decided to enhance upon C++ and Java. Golang and Python both removed the necessity to include colons after the completion of each line. Furthermore, you need not have to use parentheses and brackets.
- Python is a highly readable language as it has fewer syntactical constructions than Go and makes use of English keywords rather than punctuations. Furthermore, it uses “Pythonic” idioms and a full Code Style guideline set. You can also write one code in various ways, which has been considered as a disadvantage by many developers as it may be confusing.
- In Golang, you cannot import redundant libraries or variables, and it has a fixed set of rules. While it does take away creativity, it gives developers the option to code precisely.
Scalability and Performance
- When it comes to raw performance, Golang is unparalleled. Numerous tests have shown that the language outclasses Python in this sector, and is at least 40 times faster. On several benchmark tests, Go is even better than Java, which in turn is faster than Python.
- What usually happens in Golang is that multiple concurrent processes take place at the same time. And these are synchronized well with each other via the Input/Output synchronization. Golang’s channels and goroutines offer a definite way to structure the concurrent software. Golang makes use of channels in order to pass the references between the goroutines. Furthermore, these tasks take place parallely.
(Source: Nine reasons to switch from Python to Go | by Hrishabh Vajpai | DataDrivenInvestor)
- Golang was designed with the concept of scalability in mind. It supports concurrency and parallelism. Although Python has parallelism, which it does via threads, it requires various resources for concurrency. Golang also beats Python when it comes to delivering swifty server-side scripts.
Libraries
- Python predates Golang by 18 years or so. Thus, Python has a huge community compared to Golang, and with that comes the added advantage of huge libraries. It is a benefit for developers as they can use Numpy for complex matrix functions and array handling. Similarly, they can take advantage of matplotlib to carry out visualizations, Scikit Learn and Tensorflow for Deep Learning. They can also use Pandas, OpenCV, etc.
- Golang too has impressive in-built libraries which are necessary for coding. For instance, Gen helps you generate type aware codes, GORM Is used in the case of incompatible types systems for data conversion. Developers use Goose for data migration and schema changes, cli for creating command-line apps, etc.
Error Handling
- In Golang, you have to be vigilant and check for errors explicitly. Thus, there is no option for lazy coding, otherwise the error will pass on silently. When you call a function which you feel is problematic, it returns the error as a final value.
- In Python, errors are of two types, i.e, Exceptions and syntax errors. If you commit a syntactical error, the program will immediately stop the execution. But when the smooth flow of a program is changed by some internal occurrences, exceptions are raised.
Prototyping
- Python is dynamic in nature, which makes it an ideal choice for developers for prototyping. If you do not have in-depth knowledge of the programming language, you can get by just knowing the basics. You can quickly build the prototype in Python.
- Golang is static in nature. This means that it is quite strict when it comes to compilation. You need to have thorough knowledge of the programming language if you wish to design a prototype.
Sharing
One of the most common workflow mechanisms in the world of data science is to use Jupyter notebooks to share executable Python codes. Google Collab notebooks, too, allow developers to clearly see what others are upto, and they can read and implement the code in an interactive way. However, sharing of this magnitude is just not possible in Golang, it is quite difficult.
Both the programming languages are easy to learn, with developers leaning towards Golang a bit in comparison to Python. And each language has its unique purpose. While Python finds application in AI, data science, machine learning, Golang has its niche in server-side programming and cloud computing. Which is your field of expertise? Read the pros and cons of both the languages and choose wisely.
