Every platform you see over the web is built with great codes. The foundation of great code is the skill of developers and their choice of programming language. This inevitably leads to a major clash between developers on their skill level and preferred language. This mostly happens when two great programming languages like Python and Golang are placed side by side.
Python is keeping the top position in the list of most used programming languages across the world. But Golang has started to crawl up the ladder. While Python is still leading with 41% of developers using it, Golang is gaining more traction, according to Statista.
Read on to get a detailed comparison of Python and Golang.
What is Golang?
Golang, also known as Go, is an open-source programming language developed in 2007 by Google. It was designed to replace the conventional high-performance server-side languages like Java. Golang was developed for networking and infrastructure-related programs but now, it is used for various types of applications, including server and cloud-based applications. With big players like Meta, Apple, BBC, and Google using this programming language, it is gaining more traction in the tech community.
Why use GO language?
- The focus of Golang is on readability, reliability, and maintainability rather than proving itself to be feature-rich.
- Mostly preferred because of its scalability and concurrency features. These features help in scaling large applications like Dropbox. Golang offers multiple channels to and Goroutines to manage concurrency while leveraging multi-processor architecture.
- Golang comes with a strong set of library packages to make it easier to compose the code.
- Golang has garnered a lot of attention as a language for web application development. The agile speed of execution and easy constructs make the process of web application building easier and better.
- Golang offers an integrated test package. With the help of the “go test” command, you can directly test the code composed with the file extension of “*_test. go”.
- Golang wins the hearts of users with its completion and compilation speed. The language is easily parsable without any symbol table.
- It enables the utilization of static linking to combine all the modules and dependency libraries into a binary file based on the type of operating system.
Read: Why We Love Golang for Next-gen Application Development
What is Python?
Python is a high-end programming language used in web development, data science, machine learning applications along with other modern technologies. Python language has built-in data structures, combined with dynamic typing and binding, which makes it a perfect choice for the rapid development of applications. It is easy to learn and one of the fastest programming languages as it requires a few lines of code to develop the programs. With companies like NASA and Netflix using Python, this language has become one of the frequently used technologies across the world.
Why use Python language?
- Python is a high-level and powerful object-oriented language.
- It is a go-to technology when the developed application requires advanced analysis and visualization of data. Python can be used to create dynamic and easy-to-read reports.
- The agility and simplicity of Python enable developers to utilize the platform for building high-end prototypes.
- Python is a highly versatile language and comes with a built-in large library to support various programming tasks.
- Python allows developers to run the code blocks individually to address the issues efficiently and quickly. Python supports the asynchronous programming technique to facilitate faster detection and fixing of bugs.
- Python is a portable programming language as it can run a wide variety of operating systems including macOS, Windows, Unix, etc.
Golang Vs. Python
Let’s understand the difference between these two languages a little more in detail.
| Golang | Python |
| Procedural, concurrent, and functional language | An imperative and object-oriented language |
| Supports concurrency features | Does not have an inbuilt mechanism of concurrency |
| Does not offer exceptions | Supports exceptions |
| Does not support inheritance | Supports inheritance |
| Ideal for system programming | Ideal for solving data science challenges |
| Limited libraries | Comes with dozens of libraries |
| Statically typed language | Dynamically typed language |
| It can execute complicated systems quickly and efficiently | It can become complex when complicated systems are developed |
| Less compact language | More compact language |
| More focused on system applications | More focused on web applications, high-end computing, and data analysis programs |
| Enables smooth debugging process | Allows checking for the bugs at run-time |
| More verbose | Less verbose as compared to Golang |
| Needs more time to perform actions | Needs fewer lines of code to perform the same actions |
| It supports interfaces | It does not support interfaces |
The Final Verdict
Well, both Golang and Python have their benefits, depending on the capabilities of the developers and the scope of the project. However, picking the right language can indicate the difference between an effective program and a program that requires a lot of maintenance. If you wish to develop an application with higher scalability and speed, Golang can be your perfect choice. Python resembles pseudo-code with the added benefit of making learning easier. On the contrary, Golang is effortless to write, fast and it comes with Go Docs to create documentation automatically.
But if you want to develop deep learning and AI-drive projects, Python shines in this field as it supports many libraries and frameworks that support the development process. Moreover, the language is easy-to-read and can be easily understood by beginners without any Python experience.
So, in this battle of “Golang vs. Python”, there is no definitive answer. If you are still trying to work out which is the best programming language for you, get in touch with our programming experts to discuss your project requirements and get your answer.