Go vs Python: Pros and Cons explained
You’re a programmer that’s about to work on their next big project. But you’re struggling to decide between Python and Go.
You’ve already heard of Go, but you’re not sure if it will be the best fit for your project. In this article, we’ve laid out the pros and cons of both Python and Go to help you make a decision.
Table of Contents - Go vs Python
- What is Go?
- Where is GO used?
- Pros and Cons of Go
- Pros of using Go
- Cons of using Go
- What is Python?
- How Python can be used?
- Pros and Cons of Python
- Pros of using Python
- Cons of using Python
- So which is better, Go or Python?
What is Go?
“Go” or “Golang” is a new programming language. In 2007, Rob Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer first created Golang at Google. It’s an “open-sourced” type of programming language that Google supports.
It’s like the C-group of programming languages. There are some differences between the two. Go handles structural typing, garbage collection, any memory leakages, and CSP type concurrency.
Where is Go used?
“Go” is handy for the design of programs, for expandable servers and big software systems. The purpose of Go was to complete any possible chinks or spaces left behind in C++ and Java.
There are several companies that have shifted their system to using Go. One of the first companies to use Go was Google. This was because Google's engineers developed Go.
Other example companies include Dropbox, Uber, Twitch, Dailymotion, Apple, Docker, BBC, The New York Times, and Facebook.
Uber is the largest company to use Go. Uber has used Go to helps find the user's location and see which cars are available for their customers.
Go helps with their Geofence to depict the area. It does this while taking into variables such as airports, and distance. This helps with determining the price to charge their customers.
Uber’s Kai Wei reported that the company has had positive results when using Go. Wei explained that there were issues with Go’s programming language. Wei also explained that “downtime” was rare, and it was only caused by “third-party libraries.”
Uber needs to be able to use the latest geofence information to run lookups. To do this, it has to update the geofence from different sources in the background.
This is what makes Go handy because of its goroutines. This is a function that can be managed alone or with other goroutines in the program.
For Uber, this means that Go can run many CPU cores. It can also manage any work done in the background. It can do this alongside managing any challenges on the forefront.
Pros and Cons of Go
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google has developed their programming language. There are still some drawbacks to using Go.
Pros of using Go
There are some key advantages to using Go in a company. This is especially compared to using other programming languages.
- Go is very easy to use and understand. It's not as popular as other programming languages, but it's still easy to use.
- There is a standard library that comes with Go. This library can decrease the risk of errors.
- Compared to other programming languages, Go is fast.
- Go is becoming so popular that there's a growing community, which will only get better with time.
Cons of using Go
Despite its growing popularity, there are still some drawbacks to using Go.
- Using Go can be time-consuming and frustrating. In some cases, programmers will need to use more lines of code than in a normal situation.
- Go is still a new language. This means that in some cases that it won't be able to compare to other programme languages.
- Go hasn't found its speciality yet. Programming languages such as Python and Java have left their mark in the industry. Go is still young, so it still needs to find its niche.
What is Python?
Python is another programming language. Guido van Rossum created this programming language in the 90s.
This programming language is powerful and is “object-oriented.” Python is a typed programming language that combines data structures. This makes Python the perfect choice for fast app development.
Python is one of the most popular programming languages to use. It’s also one of the fastest programming languages because it doesn’t have a lot of lines of code.
How Python can be used
There are some real-life examples of apps that have used Python. Some well-known examples include apps such as Uber, Reddit, and even Instagram.
Instagram has more than 400 million active daily users that edit and share pictures. Using Python has helped Instagram’s engineers to work simply.
Python has also come in handy for building web scraping applications. It can help in gathering enormous amounts of data from various websites. This data can be useful with different “real-world processes” that include research and development, job advertising and comparing prices, among other things.
Python can also provide some handy toolkits and libraries to help users the data that’s been gathered, get the information you need and pull off projects. Python has libraries specifically for getting the information that’s needed. These include Pandas and NumPy.
These libraries include Seaborn, Matplotlib. They are handy for creating graphs and other ways of illustrating the information that was collected.
Developers have also used Python to create desktop apps. Python has the Tkinter library that’s been used to build user interface systems.
Other useful Python toolkits include PYQT, Kivy, and wxWidgets. These toolkits have been used to build several platforms.
Game developers have used Python libraries to build interactive games. The libraries include PySoy (for 3D game support). There’s PyGame which makes games functional. Python also has a library specifically for developing games.
Some examples of games that have been built with Python include Disney’s Toontown Online, Vega Strike, Civilization-IV, and World of Tanks.
Pros and Cons of Python
Python is still one of the most popular programming languages for programmers. But there are still advantages and disadvantages to using Python.
Pros of using Python
Below is a list of the main advantages of using Python for projects.
- Quick and easy to use and learn
- Plenty of community support
- Python contains plenty of libraries you'd need, from machine learning to web development.
- An excellent option for creating prototypes
- Fast becoming more productive than Java
Cons of using Python
Each programming language has its own set of qualities. This will make them more suitable for some projects instead of others.
- Python might be slower than other programming languages
- Python might not be suitable for mobile computing. It will take some extra effort to use Python for mobile purposes.
- Python uses a lot of memory. Users will need to think about this when they're deciding what to use for their next project.
- Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) has made Python unsuitable for programs that are multiple-threaded.
So which is better, Go or Python?
When you’re deciding which is best for you to use, Go or Python, there are some things that you need to consider. You’ll need to consider the project you’re working on and what your project needs.
Both Python and Go are great for beginners to learn to program because they are both simple to use and learn.
Go is a versatile programming language that can solve plenty of problems. Programmers can use Go for projects from big data to machine learning.
Python is an ideal language for web and software development along. Since Python is easy to use, it’s a great option even for those who struggle with technology.
Like any other tool, programming languages have a specific purpose. Go is fast working which means that your projects won’t take as much time.
Go might get there in time, but now both Python and Go will be useful in any programmer’s bag of tricks. Take a moment to think about which is best for your project.
