Table of Contents
Introduction
When it comes to web development, Developers’ choice often boils down to these two languages: Golang vs Python. These both languages provide amazing features. However, choosing between these Golang and Python is a difficult task, especially if you are unfamiliar with their characteristics.
In this blog, we will discuss and find out the differences between Golang and Python and compare them with essential parameters like performance, speed etc. to help you choose the better language for your project.
What is Golang?
Golang is popular due to its speed, modularity, and high security. Many companies such as Google, Uber, Apple, Dailymotion, Facebook, SoundCloud, and others use Golang.
Go programming language was developed by google in 2007. It was made public in 2009. Since then, it has gained a lot of popularity and is one of the most used languages today. It was created with the aim to remove the excess codes and protocols from other programming languages like C++, thus enhancing the speed and performance and simplifying the development process.
Go inculcates a lot of features of other modern languages such as pointer arithmetic, type inheritance, and operator overloading. Go is a statically typed language that supports concurrency and gives an irrefutable performance.
What is Python
Python is an object-oriented programming language with a built-in data structure. Python is preferred for rapid development with features such as code reuse, modules, packages, and system modularity. Python is an insanely popular general-purpose language with uses in Fintech, machine learning, AI, data processing, and web development.
Created in 1991, Python is perhaps the most used language in the world today with companies like Google, Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Quora, and others using it. The reason why Python is such a great choice for businesses and developers is its priority on simplicity, conciseness, and readability of the code.
Python is also flexible enough to allow both backend and frontend to work together smoothly. Even referred to as ‘glue language’ due to that. One important aspect of Python is that it is interpreted, and not compiled. It means the code will not be translated at runtime. This makes Python a ‘scripting language’ also.
Go, though is similar to Python in many ways, they do have their differences. So let’s consider the different parameters to get more clarity about the languages and see who wins between Golang vs Python.
Golang vs Python: Comparison
Here, we will compare Golang vs Python based on the following parameters:
- > Golang vs Python: Performance
- > Golang vs Python: Scalability
- > Golang vs Python: Applications
- > Golang vs Python: Libraries
- > Golang vs Python: Execution
Golang Vs Python: Performance and Speed
Both Golang and Python give exceptional performances. Though several tests found that Go’s runtime performance is 30 times faster than Python’s. It also has a faster calculation rate. We can test their performances on various factors such as Speed and Concurrency.
- >Speed– Golang is much faster than Python. Being a compiled language, it also provides faster interpretation to developers. Python being an interpreted language, is not as fast as Golang but can develop projects within standard completion time.
- >Concurrency– Concurrency is the ability of the application to multitask. For computers with 1 CPU, the application would progress but with one task at a time. Golang is resource-efficient. It has a built-in function called the goroutines, which saves memory and CPU. But Python does not have an inbuilt function. Instead, it has to depend on concurrency libraries which affect memory.
- >Parallelism– Unlike Concurrency, this ability helps the application to divide its tasks into multiple smaller tasks and perform them simultaneously in a multi-core CPU. Python works better through parallelism. But concurrency is preferred for scalable programs.
Golang vs Python: Golang Wins
Golang vs Python: Scalability Factor
Today, having a scalable application development process is a must-have. Golang was created by google developers with scalability in mind. With concurrency and parallelism, Golang can easily scale up and down as per the company’s requirements.
However, Python lacks concurrency but is excellent at using parallelism. It utilizes threads to break a task into multiple smaller tasks to perform them simultaneously. Python gives consistent results in the case of scalability by parallelism.
For large and scalable projects, Golang is better.
Golang vs Python: Golang Wins
Golang vs Python: Web Applications
Every language is built for a different purpose. Just like we use JavaScript for web development, we use Python for AI, deep learning, web development, analytics, and various other functions. Python has a vast collection of libraries which makes it easier to develop a variety of projects.
Golang, on the other hand, is best used for systems programming. Since it also utilizes concurrency, it can also be used in cloud computing and cluster computing. Golang can also be used in web development because of its easy-to-use libraries. You can set up a web server properly in a few seconds.
Well, both languages have different functions and they both fulfill the criteria but in the case of web application development, Python wins. Firstly, Go is apparently new and is providing good results but Python has been here for quite some time and has bigger and better frameworks and libraries. Secondly, more coding is required in Go which can make the process more prone to errors.
Golang vs Python: Python Wins
Golang vs Python: Libraries and Frameworks
Libraries are an important asset for developers. Having proper functioning libraries and frameworks saves valuable time and resources. Let’s see in Golang vs Python, who has an advantage in this field.
- >Library– Python has been around for 30 years. With many companies and users actively using it, it contains all types of modules, libraries, and packages. The developer community even contributes to developing more libraries. Meanwhile, Go is relatively new and lacks both strong community support and important libraries. Python wins because of its sheer quantity and usage but Golang still packs some great libraries for web development, concurrent programming, and database handling.
- >Prototype– Python has a wide range of libraries. It even covers areas of data science and forensics, so to speak. That helps in the rapid process of making prototypes. Meanwhile, Go only has library support to a certain extent. It doesn’t have the range that Python has.
- >Frameworks– Python again, has a variety of frameworks that developers use for a lot of different things. Django and Flask are even the most popular choice for web development. They help web developers in making the development process quick. While Golang is sometimes argued to be a difficult language with important frameworks missing.
Python stands out with its sheer range and quality libraries.
Golang vs Python: Python Wins
Golang vs Python: Code Execution
Code execution is another essential feature of a programming language.
- Python– Python is a dynamic language. It uses an interpreter for execution. The problem with the interpreter is that, when we implement the type interface, it doesn’t detect bugs. It can execute the wrong code and show faulty values which can lead to issues.
- Golang– Golang on the other hand, is typed statically. It uses a compiler for the code execution. The compiler catches bugs and errors in the code before it gets executed due to the computer-type interface. The variable types are also mentioned in the compiler which helps in finding even minor bugs.
So, Python can present a few limitations in usage. Golang is preferably a good choice, especially for big projects. However, Python isn’t all completely bad as being dynamic, it has its own share of pros which you cannot find in any other language.
Golang vs Python: Golang Wins
Golang vs Python: Which One To Choose?
We have seen the comparisons of both Golang vs Python. They both have their own strengths and weaknesses and you have to choose a language based on your preferred needs. Python is great in developing tools related to data analysis and business management. You can benefit from its large pool of libraries and frameworks, ease of coding and its dynamic nature.
Go, on the other hand, is helpful in big projects, building scalable applications, and offers speed. With concurrency, it is suitable for microservices, service software and systems development.
So, we see, both these languages have their respective uses, but if we have to decide a clear winner, it is Golang. Golang surely has more advantages than Python. It is a great choice for you if you are in a web development project looking to increase your efficiency and productivity. Golang is also one of the fastest growing language with many people preferring it for developing both frontend and backend projects.
Python’s popularity is still unmatched though, and it continues to be ruling the industries with its feature rich operations. It will require some more time to Golang to catch up to it.
Conclusion
Some developers say that Golang is the future of web development but Python is also not going anywhere atleast for a few decades. So what do you think? Are you going to switch to Golang or continue using Python?
If you are further interested in Golang vs Python, and want to know the differences in deep, you can contact here. We are a talent marketplace where you can find and hire best developers for your software projects. We can assist you in any project related to Blockchain, IoT, Web development, data science and many more. If you are looking to hire developers, then click here.
