Java Script vs Python | Best for Web Development
JavaScript vs Python which one would be the best language for web development. See the detailed comparison to pick the best one.
To become a pro in web development, you must master any programming language like JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java, Kotlin, C#, C++, etc...
JavaScript and Python are becoming the first choice for developers due to their clean syntax, easy-to-understand code, dynamically typed in nature, beginner-friendly, and high performance.
But to start with you need to pick one of them. So here comes the confusion about which is the best for web development JavaScript or Python.
JavaScript vs Python
We will now compare both for the following things.
Language Core Features
- Beginner friendly
- Syntax
- Speed
- Dev Environment Setup
- Object Oriented Programming
- Libraries and Frameworks
Best for Developer Roles
- Frontend Developer
- Backend Developer
- Fullstack Developer
Language Core Features Comparison
Here we will compare the core features of JavaScript vs Python, syntax, speed, OOPs support, and many more.
Beginner-Friendly
JavaScript:
JavaScript can be difficult for beginners because of its asynchronous nature and concepts like callbacks and event loops. However, due to its popularity, it has a huge community.
So you can get more resources like docs, blog posts, and tutorials to understand JavaScript.
Python:
Python is famous for being beginner-friendly. Its clean, readable syntax makes it one of the easiest languages to learn, especially for people just starting in programming.
Syntax
JavaScript:
JavaScript's syntax can be verbose and somewhat complex for beginners. It requires careful attention to detail with things like semicolons, curly braces, and more complex functions.
JavaScript was primarily designed to run in browsers with HTML files. So for running JS on the client side, we can write it with HTML.
Hello World Code Example:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Hello World</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello World from JavaScript!</h1>
<script>
console.log("Hello, World from JavaScript!");
</script>
</body>
</html>Python:
Python’s syntax is more concise and easier to understand. You don’t need curly braces or semicolons, and it uses indentation for code blocks, which makes it easier to write and read.
Hello World Code Example
print("Hello, World from Python!")Speed
JavaScript:
JavaScript performs faster than Python, especially in browser environments. It's optimized for web applications and can handle tasks more quickly in most web-related scenarios.
Python:
Python is slower compared to JavaScript due to being an interpreted language. Its dynamic nature and focus on simplicity sometimes trade-off with speed, making it less ideal for performance-critical applications.
Development Environment Setup
JavaScript:
We can run javascript in the client/browser and the server as well with node js
- Running in a Client/Browser
Running a JS code is super simple, write your code inside the <script></script> tag in an HTML file or make a JS file and link it inside the HTML head or body tag. Then open the HTML like in a browser.
- Running in Server
We can also run JavaScript on a server with Node JS. Once we have node js installed we can run javascript in a server.
Python:
Python’s setup is straightforward as well. We need to download Python and then install it in the system. But, for web development, additional setup is required since Python doesn’t run natively in browsers.
We can use frameworks like Flask or Django to use Python for web development.
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
JavaScript:
JavaScript supports OOP through a prototype-based model, which is different from classical OOP languages. While flexible, it can be a bit tricky for those who are familiar with traditional OOP.
Example
class Person {
constructor(name, age) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
}
introduce() {
return `Hello, my name is ${this.name} and I am ${this.age} years old.`;
}
}
const person1 = new Person("Alice", 30);
console.log(person1.introduce());
Python:
Python follows a more traditional object-oriented programming approach, which makes it easier for developers who are familiar with classical inheritance models in other languages.
Example
class Person:
def __init__(self, name, age):
self.name = name
self.age = age
def introduce(self):
return f"Hello, my name is {self.name} and I am {self.age} years old."
# Create an instance of the Person class
person1 = Person("Alice", 30)
print(person1.introduce())
Libraries and Frameworks
JavaScript:
JavaScript boasts a huge ecosystem of libraries and frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue for frontend development, and Node.js for backend, making it versatile for building all kinds of web applications.
Python:
Python also has a rich set of libraries and frameworks, particularly for backend development. Django and Flask are popular choices, though Python is not as widely used for front-end development.
Best for Developer Roles
Web development is divided into 3 categories when it comes to a developer role, i.e. Frontend, Backend, and FullStack Development. Here will discover which one will be the best fit for which job role.
Frontend Developer
A front-end developer is a developer responsible for building the user interface and client-side logic of a web application. It is the part of the website we see in the browser. We can make the fronted in both JavaScript and Python.
JavaScript
In the fronted space, there is no alternative for javascript, because the browsers only understand HTML, CSS for markup and styling, and JavaScript Codes for the logic. Every website we see in the browser is made in JavaScript.
So to become a frontend developer you would need to know the basics of javascript and pick one of the JS frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, etc...
Python
Python can't run in the browser, but we can use Python in the server, and with each request, python can generate the HTML, CSS, and JS, then send it to the browser to render the website.
Some template engines like Jinjs and Mako can used with Python to generate HTML code dynamically and send it to the browser
But when it comes to single-page applications JavaScript is the winner. So we don't have any other languages that can able to give single-page web applications except JavaScript. Even TypeScript (A superset of JavaScript that can used for single-page applications) is also compiled into the JS code before running in the browser.
Backend Developer
The Backend Developer works behind the scenes, his work area is making database connections, applying business logic, data processing, user authentication, etc...
We can use both JavaScript and Python for this work.
JavaScript
JavaScript is primarily designed to work with the browsers on the client side, but with node js, we can run it on the server side as well. Express-like frameworks make it more flexible to develop the backend.
Python
Python is a generally proposed programming language and it can be used as a backend service with frameworks like Flask and Django.
The good thing about Python is that it can also be used for Data Processing, AI, ML, etc, so we can expose these as a web API.
So you can choose any of these two, both are capable of building any type of backend service and APIs.
Fullstack Developer
A full stack developer is a developer who knows both the accepts of web development, he can make backend business logic and interactive client-side UI.
JavaScript
JavaScript becomes a smarter choice when comes to full-stack development, where you just have to learn only one language for both frontend and backend.
But there is a catch, you have to learn extra frameworks like React for frontend and Express for backend, and also need to understand databases to become a successful full-stack developer.
Python
You can use Python to make full-stack web apps with ease. Just need to understand the basics of Python and then use frameworks like Django and Flask. No overhead of large npm packages like javascript. Starting with Python is super simple.
Both are beautiful languages to start with. First, learn the basics of HTML and CSS, and then from Python to JavaScript pick anyone.