History of the Languages

Go and Python are two popular programming languages that have been around for over a decade. Both languages have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, and are used in various applications and industries. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at both Go and Python and compare them based on their performance, ease of use, and popularity.

Performance

Go is a statically-typed language and has been designed with performance in mind. Go is known for its fast compile times, low memory footprint, and efficient garbage collection. These features make it an ideal choice for large-scale, high-performance applications. On the other hand, Python is a dynamically-typed language, which means that its interpreter has to do more work at runtime to determine the type of a variable. Thismakes Python slower than Go, but it also offers more flexibility and easier maintenance.

Ease of Use

Python is known for its simple and easy-to-read syntax. It’s often described as having a low learning curve, making it a popular choice for beginner programmers and those who are new to programming. Python also has a large and supportive community, which makes it easier to find resources and help when needed. On the other hand, Go has a steeper learning curve, but it’s also considered more efficient and less verbose than Python. Go also has a strong focus on concurrency and has built-in support for multithreading, making it ideal for building scalable applications.

Popularity

Python is one of the most popular programming languages and is used in a variety of applications, including web development, data science, and scientific computing. It’s also widely used in education and has a large number of resources available to support its use. On the other hand, Go is a relatively new language and is still gaining popularity. However, Go has been widely adopted by tech companies such as Google, Dropbox, Docker and Kubernetes as well as some companies outside of the tech world like The Home Depot and is growing in popularity as a language for building scalable and performant applications.

Examples

This section will showcase some examples of Python and Go. Using the same function and variable declartions to show how each language handles the same task. The below function will show an add() function in both Go and Python demonstrating how you would write a program in both.

package main

import "fmt"

func add(a int, b int) int {
    return a + b
}

func main() {
    fmt.Println(add(40, 2))
}

def add(a, b)
    return a + b

print(add(40, 2))

Next we have the example of declaring variables. Go:

package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    var x int = 10
    fmt.Println(x)
}

Python:

x = 10
print(x)

As you can see there is a bit more boilerplate code if you will when it comes to go however the performance boost you get out of your application could be a good enough reason to make the switch. On the other hand if you have a team of data scientists that are familiar with coding practices or languages and you need a product built quickly, it might be more beneficial to go with Python.

Conclusion

Go and Python are both great programming languages, each with its own unique strengths and weaknesses Go is a fast and efficient language that is ideal for building large-scale, high performance apps. Python, on the other hand, is easy to learn and use, making it a popular choice for beginner programmers and those who are new to programming. In the end, the best language to choose depends on your specific requirements and the type of applications you’re building.