Golang vs. Python

According to TIOBE.com , “Python has now definitely become part of the big programming languages. For almost 20 years, C, C++ and Java are consistently in the top 3, far ahead of the rest of the pack. Python is joining these 3 languages now. It is the most frequently taught the first language at universities nowadays, it is number one in the statistical domain, number one in AI programming, number one in scripting and number one in writing system tests.”

The TIOBE Programming Community index depicts the massive popularity of Python in comparison to other programming languages including Go/Golang. Python is a matured programming language, whereas Go is a new age programming language. Python was released as a general purpose, high-level, and interpreted programming language 1991. Python is used widely by developers for building a desktop application, websites, and web applications.

Also, it is one of the most preferred programming languages for scientific computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives. On the other hand, the developers at Google started developing Golang as a compiled and statically typed programming language in 2007. Google introduced the programming language to the public in 2009. At present, Golang is being used by several websites and open source applications.

Understanding Major Differences between Golang and Python

Type of Programming Language

Python is an interpreted programming language, whereas Go is a compiled programming language. The developers need to use specific interpreters to translate the Python code each time the program is executed. On the other hand, they can execute the Golang core directly and efficiently by running the source code through a compiler. Hence, programmers can run Golang code repeatedly without increasing overheads.

Syntax Rules

Python is designed as a highly readable programming language. It is also one of the programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. While using Python, the programmers can write clean and readable code using English keywords. On the other hand, the syntax rules of Golang are hugely inspired by the C programming language. However, Golang helps developers to write concise and readable code by making many changes to the syntaxes of C.

Programming Paradigm Support

Both Python and Golang support a number of programming paradigms. Python supports both object-oriented programming and structured programming. It further supports commonly used programming paradigms like functional, imperative, procedural and aspect-oriented. At the same time, Golang supports functional, concurrent, and procedural programming paradigms.

Implementations

Google allows developers to choose from two major implementations of Go programming language – self-hosting and gccgo. They can use gccgo as a GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) front-end. Also, they can leverage Google’s self-hosting compiler toolchain to target a variety of devices and operating systems. The developers also have the option to implement a number of ways by choosing the right interpreter. They can further choose from a wide range of interpreter CPython, Jython, PyPy, IronPython and PythonNet according to the precise needs of a project.

Type System

Python is designed as a strongly types programming language. In addition to featuring a dynamic type system, it also supports automatic memory management. As Python source code needs to be compiled each time the program is executed, it becomes easier for developers to build secure software applications. On the other hand, Go is designed as a statically typed programming language. It requires developers to associate a type with each variable. The feature makes programmers detect and repair bugs on a regular basis.

Libraries and Frameworks

As noted earlier, Python is currently one of the most popular programming languages. The mature programming language is also supported by a large and active community. The members of the community release new Python libraries and development tools on a regular basis. Python also scores over Golang in the category of standard libraries. The Python programmers have the option to choose from a wide range of libraries and frameworks according to the nature and requirements of each project. But the developers lack the option to leverage varying libraries and development tools while working with Go language.

Usage

At present, Python is one of the most widely used scripting languages for development of websites and web applications. It is also being used by developers for building software applications based on emerging technological trends – IoT, AI, machine learning and big data. But developers these days are using Go language mostly for system programming. However, the programming language is also being used by several websites and open source applications. Many developers even switch from Python to Golang to take advantage of the modern programming language.

On the whole, Python is a mature and widely used programming language, while Go is a new age and emerging programming language. Many developers these days opt for Golang as a robust alternative to Python. Go compiler currently supports a number of programming languages including Python. The developers even have the option to call Go functions from Python code and write Python extensions in Golang. Hence, the developers the option to build applications that deliver outstanding user experience by integrating Python and Go.

Also Read: Why should you use Python for Big Data?