Evan Summers's Blog

Pulp Friction: Top Ten Reasons to choose Java over Python et al

Come of think of it, this can be Java versus Python and all the other scripting languages, ouch!

1. Beauty. No legacy underscores. Nuf sed.
2. Java has long, clear, unabbreviated names.
3. With Java, IDEs come standard so that you don't have to type those long names. Phew!
4. Sooo many vendors support Java, except Microsoft. Microsoft supports IronPython, which doesn't help my pro Java arguments, so ssh ssh.
5. Java runs Python and many other languages including Java! Ok, it's not fair comparing a VM to a language, but i couldn't resist.
6. Java has a well funded community, whereas Pythonistas have to be naturally enthusiastic.
7. Java is strongly typed, so we don't have to write unit tests, and can rely on blind luck more.
8. It takes longer in Java, which helps a lot when you're getting paid by the hour. "Wa wa we waa!"
9. Java rules the Enterprise, if you exclude that SAP thingy.
10. Java rules the Web, if you exclude those ASP and LAMP thingies - and Python is only one of three P's in LAMP, so...
11. Java rules the Desktop, if you exclude C/C++, Objective-C, and all the stuff from the desktop monopoly.
12. Java rules the Mobile, period... for now.
13. Java is no good at system tasks, so it gives us a good cop-out for avoiding those.
14. Java never gets compared to, or confused with, Perl.
15. Java has an enterprise version. Quite a few actually.
16. Java has more opensource projects, more toolkits, more IDEs, more jobs, more verbosity, more everything!

Please gimme some help getting this up to a Top 20, or where to slim it down to a Top 10, and/or which are your top Top reasons, and/or bottom Top reasons, for or against, Java or Python, or dynamic scripting languages in general?!

Comments

• Uhm, yea... This is one you shouldn't have tackled. There are so many flaws in that list, except 12, that I wouldn't even know where to begin. The biggest question that comes to mind, have you actually ever used Python? :|

  Posted by: olsonje on November 09, 2006 at 09:45 AM

• For number 7 I think you are confused. Python is strongly typed, it just happens to be dynamically typed which is often associated with weakly typed languages.

  Posted by: jcwatso on November 09, 2006 at 10:20 AM

• #17: Python's default GUI is TK(yuck), Java's is not.

  leouser

  Posted by: leouser on November 09, 2006 at 11:05 AM

• 
  olsonje, no, I have never used python - my subjective reasons above have put me off, as very happy java programmer, and not a very adventurous one, i admit - so yes, my opinion is very biased, very subjective, very uninformed etcetera - i can't deny that. As to where to start, well you can just start with number 1 - or choose any number and tackle it!? ;)

  jcwatso, thanks for correction re strongly dynamically typed vs weakly typed.

  Posted by: evanx on November 09, 2006 at 11:08 AM

• #18 Python has a Global Interpreter Lock(yuck), which means if I remember right only one thread at a time can execute on your snazzy multi-core cpu. Java runs on 1000 cores!(could it?)

  leouser

  Posted by: leouser on November 09, 2006 at 02:10 PM

• Talk about FUD :|

  Posted by: olsonje on November 09, 2006 at 02:45 PM

• heh, which part is FUD?

  leouser

  Posted by: leouser on November 09, 2006 at 02:49 PM

• Also you need to type more code in Java than in Python so you appear busier :-)

  Posted by: prunge on November 09, 2006 at 06:01 PM

• This post's funny, i like it :)

  I liked all the "Java rules the * if you exclude the thing that actually rules it".
  Like riding goats rules the transportation business if you exclude that whole 'cars' thingy :)
  

  Posted by: liquid on November 09, 2006 at 11:18 PM

• 
  olsonje, you got a typo there - it's FUN not FUD ;) Saying that something is FUD and not explaining why is FUD not FUN.

  thanks liquid :) "You don't ride a goat to work? Really!? But why not?" ;)

  Posted by: evanx on November 09, 2006 at 11:58 PM

• Now that sounds like a line from the Borat movie.

  Posted by: kirillcool on November 10, 2006 at 10:14 AM

• :) yes kirill, it is a borat "quote." i haven't seen da movie tho (yet), but got the early Ali G DVDs dat was aired on BBC, and i've been enjoying Borat on YouTube of late. Between Ali G and The Office (with Ricky Gervais), i'm like a broken record

  Posted by: evanx on November 10, 2006 at 11:24 AM

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