Programming Languages: Python vs Scala

Python and Scala are the two most popular programming languages for data science, big data, and cluster computing.

Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language that is interpreted. It is a language that is dynamically typed. It supports multiple programming models, including object-oriented, imperative, functional, and procedural paradigms, and has an interface to many OS system calls.

Scala is an object-oriented programming language as well. It is used to provide functional programming support as well as a strong static type system. Scala derives its name from a combination of ‘scalable’ and ‘language,’ as it can scale according to the number of users, and everything is an expression here. It seamlessly combines the features of object-oriented and functional programming languages.

Python vs Scala:
                        Python                          Scala
Python is a language that uses dynamic typing. Scala is a language that uses static typing.

 

Python, as a dynamically typed language, generates additional work for the interpreter at runtime. During runtime, it must decide on the data types. Scala is a statically typed language that uses the JVM, making it 10 times faster than Python. As a result, when dealing with large amounts of data, Scala should be considered instead of Python.
Python is simple to learn and apply. Its popularity originated from its English-like syntax. Python makes it simple for developers to write code. Scala is easier to learn than Python. Scala, on the other hand, plays a much larger and more important role than Python in concurrent and scalable systems.
It determines the data types at runtime. This is not the case in Scala, which is why it should be used instead of Python when dealing with large amounts of data.
In comparison to Scala, the Python community is much larger. Both are open source, and Scala has a strong community behind it. However, it is lesser than Python.
Python’s testing process and methodologies are much more complex because it is a dynamic programming language. Scala is a statically typed language, so testing is much easier.

 

Python has an interface to many OS system calls and libraries. There are numerous interpreters available. It is essentially a compiled language, with all source code being compiled prior to execution.
Python includes libraries for machine learning, data science, and natural language processing (NLP). Scala, on the other hand, lacks such tools.

 

 

When there is a change to the existing code, the Python language is highly prone to bugs. Scala is a statically typed language with an interface for detecting compile-time errors. As a result, refactoring code in Scala is much easier and more ideal than in Python.
Python Programming Language Advantages
  • Simple to learn and comprehend
  • Python is preferred by a large number of developers over many other programming languages.
  • It includes a large number of libraries, modules, and functions.
  • It also includes a wide range of built-in functions, data types, and modules.
  • It is quick and one of the best languages for beginners to get started with.
Python Programming Language Drawbacks
  • Python is a dynamically typed language that consumes slightly more computer time than C, C++, or Java.
  • The Python programming language consumes a lot of memory in addition to a lot of time.
Scala Benefits
  • Access to JVM libraries for Java support
  • It shares several readable syntax features with other popular languages like Ruby and Java.
Scala Disadvantages
  • Because it is both object-oriented and functional programming language, the code language of the programming language can become complex.
  • Scala is a programming language used by a small number of developers to create applications and models.