Comparative Analysis of Python and Java for Beginners

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 07 Issue: 08 | Aug 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Mrs. Selina Khoirom

1

, Moirangthem Sonia

2

, Borishphia Laikhuram

3

, Jaeson Laishram

4

,

Tekcham Davidson Singh

5

1

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering, Manipur Institute of Technology,

Manipur-795004, India

2-5

B.E. Student, Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering, Manipur Institute of Technology, Manipur-795004, India

---------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract - Coding and programming are all around us

and it will keep getting more widespread in the future. One

way to make a career in the field of IT is by learning to

program. Choosing a beginner-friendly programming

language is a very important and critical choice for a

beginner in the path of becoming a programmer. If a

beginner is to choose a complex language when just starting

in this field, then one could very easily lose interest in the

field of programming. There are many programming

languages that it becomes very confusing for a beginner to

decide which language to start. This paper includes a

comparison of the two most popular, top-ranked, and in-

demand programming languages Python and Java. A brief

overview of Python and Java including its features,

applications, advantages, and disadvantages is presented in

this work. The comparison of the two languages is based on

syntax and features comparison. The paper also includes the

implementation of a simple quick sort algorithm and a

game called Tic-Tac-Toe in both the mentioned languages.

The comparison result will also be focused on the ratio of

lines of code (LOC), file capacity, and speed. We are to

conclude which programming will be much better for a

beginner.

Key Words: Comparison, Python, Java, Programming

Language, Beginner.

1. INTRODUCTION

The idea that programming is an inborn trait is a myth.

When teaching how to read, we usually take shorter books

including simple, elementary words and not a classic

novel. Similarly, we just need to apply the same in

programming also. Solving easy and simple problems

helps in building the confidence to solve complicated

problems [4]. Computational Thinking is essential

especially for a person associated with Computer Science.

The argument to determine which programming language

to be chosen by a novice has been an on-going controversy

[10]. Programming Language is the terminology used to

communicate between machines and human beings.

Computers do not understand human language so we need

a language that machine usually understands. It gives

instructions to the computer what to do next so as to

perform a task or solve a problem. The first programming

language officially proposed was Plankalkül, developed

by Konrad Zuse for his Z1 computer between 1943 and

1945 although not implemented for the time being. The

first functioning high-level programming language is

known as the Short Code proposed by John Mauchly's in

1949 and was written in the early 1950s. Fortran

(Formula Translation) was the first commercially

available language developed by a team at IBM in the year

of 1954. Programming and Coding are often used as

interchangeable words, but we need to understand that

knowing how to code does not mean you can program.

Coding is the ability to write code with the knowledge of

the syntax and structure of a language while Programming

is the capability to transcribe an idea to solve a problem

and it comprises coding, analyzing and implementing

algorithms, understanding data structures, and solving

problems.

There is a large scope for a Computer Science degree

holder and they can strive in any field. Nowadays, there

are many programming languages available and each one

of them is better than the other in their own aspects. To

choose only one programming language is tough. There

are many different factors to be considered when choosing

a language. Inaccuracy and misinformation of

characteristics of a programming language like third party

support, ease of understanding, speed or function, etc., can

have a huge impact when selecting a programming

language [5].

Novice thinks differently than an expert or professionals.

What is easy and can be solved in a few seconds by a

professional can take a long time and be difficult for a

novice. Novice needs to know the syntax, variable, loops,

how to iterate, etc., while professionals have already

acquired the knowledge. Novice usually struggles on how

to debug as they don’t usually know what should be

happening. Some adverse circumstances that were even

noticed at universities like Lappeenranta University of

Technology (LUT) where learners of programming failed

to pass the basic course and even if they do pass, they

were atrocious. Novice usually notices that nearly all

programming tools costly and decent Integrated

Development Environments (IDEs) perplexing. So, cheap

yet high aspect tools should be chosen [4]. Novice needs to

use small tasks and tools suitable for their standard not

for the level of a professional.

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

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To a novice, it is burdensome and complicated to learn all

the topics like object-oriented, dynamic memory handling,

etc., as they are not well equipped [4]. It is essential to

execute an explicit and relevant scheme while learning a

programming language since the first programming

language leaves a lasting impression regarding the

perception and ambition for learning programming [3].

Learner’s attention is divided if they are continuously

faced with the new programming environment. So, it is

necessary that they continue to master the environment

they are familiar with [4].

Similar fundamental building blocks are used by most of

the programming language, so it will be easy and effortless

to pick another new language if one has become proficient

in a particular language [1]. Even-though programmers

use different languages, they usually incline to use the

style and structure of their first language [6]. If

appropriate steps are commenced computer programming

is fun and easy. Thus, selecting a particular programming

language is a crucial step faced by a beginner so as not to

be perplexed and depreciate their confidence in

programming.

Among the various languages available, only Java and

Python are chosen for this paper. Popularity of

Programming Language (PYPL) Git-hub index and the

fourth Annual Developer Ecosystem Survey by JetBrains

was used to get some ideas regarding the current

programming trends [14, 13]. Java is one of the most in-

demand and popular languages and has been thriving for

around 25 years. Python is older than Java i.e., it has been

around for 30 years. Python has been soaring in popularity

for the past few years and able to challenge the popular

languages. This paper compares various characteristics

and features of both languages.

1.1 Objective

The aspiration of this paper is to analyze and recommend

which programming language will be better for a beginner

such that they do not lose interest in the field of

programming. This paper does not mean to affirm that the

programming languages mentioned in this paper surpasses

all the other programming language available and is the

best one for a beginner. Selecting a language that is

beginner-friendly is very important for a beginner.

Beginners usually do not have any knowledge of which

language to choose, so in this paper, we tried our best to

suggest a language for the novice. Selecting a particular

language and sticking to it is a crucial commitment

otherwise the learners will be perplexed and it will

deprecate their confidence.

This report focuses on Python and Java only. Python uses

very simple English and it is very easy to learn. It was built

with the concept of a beginner. While Java is also easy to

learn, it has strong community support. The job

opportunity for both languages is also very high. The

demand for developers with the knowledge of these

languages keeps on increasing. But the demands are not

able to be fulfilled as they required skilled developers so

the demand and supply chain is not linear.

The first part of the thesis focuses on the comparison of the

syntax of the two languages and observe which one is less

complicated and easy to comprehend. Finally, the

QuickSort algorithm and a simple Tic-Tac-Toe game are

implemented in the two mentioned languages.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Monica, N., O. Ogbuokiri, Benedette, O. Okwume (2015),

presented a report on “Comparison of python and java for

use in instruction in the first course in computer

programming” [1]. This thesis explains the comparison of

programming languages (Python and Java) based on code

size, execution time, memory consumption,

correctness/robustness, and commenting/reliability. The

job demands and salary for Java and Python developers

are emphasized in this paper. The algorithm for

computation of increasing grade point average (CGPA)

was enforced and implemented in both the language. The

result of this experiment shows that Python consumes less

memory than Java, Python has a smaller code size than

Java, Python implements faster than Java, and Java is more

robust than Python. So, Python is endorsed for instruction

in the first course in computer programming class for the

novice.

E Insanudin (2019) conducted research on the

comparison of source code implementation in Python and

Java [2]. The bubble sort algorithm is used in this paper to

analyze the comparison. The comparison is conducted

based on lines of code, file capacity, and access speed. The

same bubble sort algorithm is implemented in both the

language i.e., Java and Python. The author concluded that

python has a lesser number of codes and less file capacity

than Java and access speed of Python is also good.

A Bogdanchikov, M Zhaparou, and R Suliyev (2013)

presented a report on “Python to learn Programming” [3].

Python is used for this report as it has neatly organized

syntax and powerful tools to solve any task. Python is easy

and simple math. Some similar codes are implemented in

Python, Java, and C++ and are analyzed. Python is easy to

read and understand so, it is favorable for beginners.

Novice usually understands programming well when

Python is used. The report also presents a result of the

midterm marks of the same courses taught in Java and

Python. A hike of 16% is observed in the course taught in

Python.

Jussi Pekka Kasurinen (2007) presented a report on

“Python as a programming language for the introductory

programming course” [4]. This report analyzed the

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 07 Issue: 08 | Aug 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

introductory level education and pursue some common

problems among the course. Python is compared to C, C++,

and Java to prove the inference that Python is better for

the novice. The report also analyzed what to include in the

course structure and what to teach on the first

programming course. Louisiana State University and the

State University of West Georgia applied Python to their

basic programming course. The circumstances at fall

Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) 2005 is also

discussed in the report. Accumulating good course books

and reference material was strenuous.

Akesson Tobias & Rasmus Horntvedt (2019) presented a

report on “Java, Python, and JavaScript, a comparison” [5].

The report presents a brief comparison of three different

languages Python, Java, and JavaScript-based on three

different phases i.e., its syntax, why the specific language is

preferred than another in circumstances, and speed.

Python is said to be the easiest among the three languages

mentioned which require for lesser time to write. Java’s

strict syntax is also advantageous and favorable. Python is

portrayed as the slowest from the other two languages.

K. R. Srinath(2017) conducted a research paper on

“Python – The Fastest Growing Programming Language”

[9]. This paper explains why Python is a suitable language

for both learning and real-world programming. Why

Python is considered as the fastest growing language is

also deliberated in this paper. The most important

features of python language, the types of programming

supported by python and its users, and its applications are

also examined here. Python also has some cons like the

larger and complicated a program is, it is strenuous to

maintain and correct errors that arise; and as Python is

dynamically typed, the machine needs to perform extra

work making Python slow.

Stephen J. Humer & Elvis C. (2014) presented a report on

“a comparative analysis of the C++, java and python

language” [11]. The report is an analysis of the comparison

of Python, Java, and C++. The fundamental and advanced

features of the three languages are compared and

analyzed. Each language is evaluated based on standard

evaluation criteria of readability, simplicity, orthogonally,

portability, programming environment, and usage cost.

Java is said to be more convenient and favored than C and

C++ in its own aspects. Python is easier and requires only

a few lines of code compared to the others. Python is also

preferred due to its vast available choices for

implementation.

Kirby McMaster and his team in the year 2017 presented a

report on the comparison of Java and Python for the

coverage of Introductory Programming Concepts [12]. In

this paper, they analyzed the two languages i.e., Java and

Python by analyzing the words on textbooks that depict

essential programming perception. TextSTAT program is

adopted in this report to estimate the count of the concept

of essential programming topics listed in the sample of

Java and Python textbooks. There is an impressive

resemblance to concepts in both languages. Python array

is interchangeable with a list. The rank of correlation of

Java and Python is 0.726 and it keeps on rising. Module

and function are more preferred in Python than Java.

Similarly, thread, constructor, the declaration is more

preferred in Java than Python.

3. OVERVIEW

There are various languages that may be better for a

programmer but in this report, the team selected only two

languages as per their convenience. The selected

programming languages i.e., Java and Python are well-

established and top-ranked in renowned websites. They

are popular and the demand in the job market is quite

satisfactory. Some of the most important features of a

programming language for a beginner should be that it is

simple, accessible, credible, and easy to understand. The

team conducted some research concerning the two

languages from different sources such as research papers,

books, articles, etc. A brief study of both languages is

conferred below.

3.1 Overview of Java

The programming language, Java was proposed by James

Gosling and his team from Sun Microsystems in the year

1991 and was released in 1995 [5]. Java’s most prominent

feature is that it is platform-independent i.e., it has the

properties of WORA (Write Once, Run Anywhere). When

Java was first proposed, it was called OAK. OAK was

introduced with the perception of a programming

language that acts as a platform for connection for

appliances like VCR, TV, etc., [8]. Oracle Corporation

procured Sun Microsystems in 2009-10 and became the

proprietor of Java. Java is a compiled language that is

statically typed i.e., their variables are to be declared

before assigning values. The programs written in Java runs

faster than Python but is slower when compared with C++.

Airbnb, Uber, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Groupon, Spotify,

Eclipse, Hadoop, etc., are mostly based on Java. Big

Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL Tech, Naukri,

Jabong, Myntra, Flipkart, Trivago, ibibo, etc., are still using

Java.

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Volume: 07 Issue: 08 | Aug 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

3.1.1 Features of Java

Fig -1: Features of Java

Figure 1 shown above is a diagram containing some

features of Java.

 Object-oriented

Java is fully object-oriented. The OOP (Object-Oriented

Programming) helps in dealing with real-world

applications. The inclusion of inheritance,

polymorphism, abstraction, and encapsulation makes

a program an OOP.

 Platform Independent

When compiling a program, it is compiled into a

platform-independent byte code which is then

executed using a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The use

of JVM makes Java programming platform-

independent since if JVM is installed the same

program can be executed in multiple platforms [5].

 Secured

Java uses its own runtime environment i.e., JVM, Java

applications are secure. Safety aspects like Type-

checking at compile time and runtime checking are

found inbuilt in Java. Java is also known for the

security that it provides. Java also lacks pointers,

which encourages security.

 Robust

Java has strong memory management and it

automatically gets rid of objects that are not used. Java

consists of exception handling and types of checking

techniques. All these features of Java make it robust.

 Portable

Java byte code can be transferred to any platform

without any implementation making it portable.

 Multi-thread

The features of multi-threading are inbuilt in Java. It

aids in building highly interactive and responsive

applications that deal with many tasks at once. Multi

Threads share a common memory area, increase the

capabilities and performance.

 Distributed

This aspect of Java allows accessing files by calling the

methods from any machine on the internet. It

supports the sharing of data and programs among

multiple computers for networking that is intrinsically

integrated into it. Java supports RMI (Remote Method

Invocation), Socket Programming, and the COBRA that

aid in sharing objects in a distributed environment.

3.1.2 Applications of Java

There are many fields that use Java in the real world. The

team conducted some research regarding the applications

of Java. A brief description of some of the common uses of

Java is presented below.

 Android Applications

Java is regarded as the official programming language

for android mobile app development. Although mobile

applications can be created using Dart, Java is mostly

preferred. The Java byte code compiled runs on a

specialized virtual machine for android called Dalvik

Virtual Machine (DVM). Application creating software

like Android Studio and Kotlin is compatible with Java.

Java OOP principle gives better security, simple and

more effective with developing android applications

 Desktop GUI Applications

Java can be used for the developed desktop

application. The packages such as Abstract

Windowing Toolkit (AWT), JavaFX, and Swing are

used to build GUI applications.

 Web-based Applications

Java is used to create web applications with the help

of servlets, struts, JSP (Java Server Pages), etc. Java

caters easy coding and high security which facilitates

the development of applications for health, social

security, education, and insurance. Open-source e-

commerce platforms like Broadleaf provide aid to Java

in developing e-commerce web applications.

 Cloud-based Applications

Cloud computing gives a low-cost result for IT

infrastructure. It presents with on-demand delivery of

IT resources through the internet comprising of

storage, servers, database, networking, and software

with the pay-as-you-go pricing model. Java has

characters that aid in development like SaaS

(Software-as-a-Service), IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-

Service), and PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service).

 Big Data Technologies

For the study of Big Data, Java is used as it is fast,

reliable, and robust. The features of Java such as

Automatic Garbage Collection and strong memory

management make it favorable for use in Big Data.

Frameworks like Apache Mahout, Apache Spark, Java

JFreechart are used by Java for engaging in Big Data.

Java is deep-seated with Open source communities

making it more favorable for all these technologies.

Big Data Technologies like Apache Hadoop, Apache

Spark, Apache Mahout, etc., are sub-projects of Java.

Features

of Java

Object

Oriented

Platform In-

dependent

Secured

Robust

Portable

Multithread

Distributed

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 07 Issue: 08 | Aug 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

3.1.3 Advantages of Java

 Java is forthright, strongly-typed, and has strict

expectations that govern the learners to

contemplate in the correct way.

 Java is easy to use, write, compile, debug, and

learn compared to other languages like C, C++, C#.

 Being Platform-independent, distributed

language, supporting multi-threading, providing

Automatic Garbage Collection, etc., are some of

the boons of Java.

 The use of OOP in Java enables to set up standard

programs and re-useable code.

 Java has an inbuilt rich API for tasks like database

connection, networking, I/O, XML parsing, etc.

 Java was developed with consideration of a

secured platform. It has a Security Manager for

each and every application where the access rules

for classes are established.

 Java has a vast number of well-tested libraries and

frameworks.

 Java is relatively inexpensive to maintain as it

does not count on an explicit hardware

framework.

 Another interesting aspect of Java is that it has

strong community support. So, there will always

be someone who is able to help when the learner

gets stuck.

 Although, Java is similar to C and C++, Java does

not include characteristics such as pointers and

multiple-inheritance.

3.1.4 Disadvantages of Java

 Starting from 2019, Oracle announced that Java

Standard Edition 8 will be charged for business,

commercial, and production.

 Java particularly focuses on storage and not on

the backup of data.

 Memory management is costly as large memory

space is required.

 Java is slower and memory consuming when

compared with C or C++.

 Selecting a tool to develop a GUI is tough as Java

absolutely lags when in desktop programs.

 Java codes are verbose. It fixates on being more

manageable but jeopardized with immensely

perplexing codes and lengthy information.

3.2 Overview of Python

Python was formulated in the late 1980s and enforced in

December 1989 by Guido van Rossum at Central

Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands [5, 7,16.

Python was proposed to be the heir for the ABC language

that is proficient for exception handling and interfacing

with the operating system Amoeba [7, 17]. Python was

named corresponding to Guido’s passion for the television

show Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2, 17]. Python is

interpreted and dynamically-typed programming language

which means that programmer does not need to define the

data-type of the variables and no need for compilation and

with the use of the interactive command-line, they get

prompt assessment without having to wait for the whole

program to be finished. Python Software Foundation (PSF)

is a non-profitable organization entrenched as the

intellectual owner of Python since version 2.1 [2]. Python

has become the fastest-growing language. The popularity

of Python in data science is one of the main reasons for the

hike of Python [9]. Some software programs that are

written in Python are YouTube, Google, Instagram, Reddit,

Spotify, Dropbox, Quora, etc. Companies like IBM, Disney,

NASA, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon, SurveyMonkey,

Facebook, etc., use Python.

3.2.1 Features of Python

Fig -2: Features of Python

Figure 2 shown above are some common features of

Python.

 Easy

Python is easy to code and easy to read as

compared to other languages like Java, C, C++, etc.

Python syntax can be studied by anyone during a

short period of time. Python code is like English

that allows the learner to focus on the result.

 Expressive

Python can execute a complicated function with

only a few lines of code compared to other

languages.

 Free and Open Source

Python is open source and freely available. The

public can assist and contribute to the

improvement of the language. The Python source

Feature

s of

Python

Easy

Expressive

Free and

Open

Source

High level

language

Portable

Interpreted

language

Object

Oriented

Extensible

&

Embedded

Large

standard

library

Dynamically

typed

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code can be downloaded, changed, used, and be

distributed.

 High-level language

Python is a high-level language. There is no need

for remembering the architecture and memory

management which makes python very favorable.

 Portable

Python is said to be portable as the same program

written in Python can be executed in different

platforms such as Windows, Linux, Unix, etc., if

system-dependent features are avoided.

 Interpreted Language

Python is an interpreted language. The code does

not need compilation, they are executed line by

line and not all at a time which makes debugging

the code easier than all the other languages. So,

Python is slower than Java due to this feature.

 Object-Oriented

Python supports an object-oriented approach

which helps the programmer to write reusable

code and aid in developing the application with

lesser code.

 Extensible and embedded

The extensible property of Python allows code to

be written and compiled in other languages like C

or C++. This code then can be used further in

Python when required. The embedded property of

Python allows is allowing the use of Python in

another programming language.

 Large Standard Library

Python along with the large standard library

provides for a large range of modules and

functions. So that the programmer does not need

to write the code, they can just import it

 Dynamically Typed

Python is said to be a dynamically typed language

because it does not need to specify the data-type

of the variable while declaring it. The type of

value is decided during the run time.

3.2.2 Applications of Python

There are many uses of Python but the team only selected

some common applications. The applications of Python

are shown in brief below.

 Web development

Python is a go-to language for web development.

Django, Pyramid, Flask, Bottle are some of the

frameworks offered by Python. Python web

frameworks are popular for their security, scalability,

and flexibility. Requests, Beautiful Soup, Paramiko,

Feedparser, Twisted Python, etc., are libraries that

also included in the Python’s Package Index.

 Game development

Python has many in-built libraries that are favorable

for developing a game. PyGame, PyKyra are

frameworks for game development and PySoy is a 3D

cloud game engine for Python3.

 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is one of

the rising topics and will be continued in the future.

Python is popular and favorable to be used in Artificial

intelligence and machine learning due to its character

of being stable, secure, flexible, and of its various tools.

Some of Python libraries and frameworks used in

Artificial Intelligence are SciPy, Pandas, Seaborn,

Keras, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, NLTK, Pytorch,

Accord.NET, etc.

 Desktop GUI applications

Python is also used for desktop applications. GUI

toolkits and frameworks such as PyQt, PyGtk, Kivy,

Tkinter, WxPython, PyGUI, and PySide help in making

the development of eminently functional desktop

application an easy task.

 Web scraping applications

A Python is a marvelous tool that can be used to

excerpt large data from a website which is then used

for job listings, price comparison, etc. Beautiful Soup,

Mechanical Soup, LXML, etc., are some tools used for

web scraping.

 Data Science and Data Visualization

Python is preferred by many for the analysis and

visualization of large data. Python is associated with

statistical means to analyze and depict complicated

data by data scientists. Packages such as NumPy,

Pandas, Sci-Kit, etc., are used.

3.2.3 Advantages of Python

 Python is easy to read, learn, and write. So, it is

beginner-friendly.

 Lesser code is required by Python compared to

other languages for the same task.

 Python is free and open-source. Thus, it is broadly

used for varied functions.

 Python has large community support.

 Python is dynamically typed, embedded language.

 Due to its vast libraries the programmer can

execute complex functions easily.

 Python is an eminently flexible programming

language.

 Python is enormous for data visualization making

the reports and visual presentation of data easy to

understand.

 Python provides a low learning curve due to it

being simple and easy and is a productive

language.

 Python being an interpreted language executes

the code line by line. So, even if there are multiple

errors only one error will be shown at a time

without further execution when an error occurs.

 Python offers multiple programming paradigms

like object-oriented programming, imperative and

functional programming, structured

programming, procedural programming [9].

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 07 Issue: 08 | Aug 2020 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

 Unlike Java, Python supports multiple

inheritances.

4.2.4 Disadvantages of Python

 As Python is an interpreted language, it is slower

in execution when compared with other

languages.

 Python is not favorable for mobile development.

 Python is not preferred for memory

comprehensive task.

 As Python is dynamically typed raises run time

error leading to restriction in design.

 Python is used somewhat less in large companies

and businesses due to its limitation in database

access layers unlike JDBC (Java DataBase

Connectivity) and ODBC (Open DataBase

Connectivity).

 The Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) of Python

allows the execution of only one thread at a time.

 Python’s simplicity becomes a disadvantage when

the programmer wants to shift to other languages

like Java which have strict structure.

4. Method

The report for a comparison of the two languages Java and

Python is portrayed in this thesis. The comparison is

processed through two different paths. Java 8 is used in

EditPlus and Eclipse IDE to write all the Java code and

Python 3.7.6 is used to write Python code in Jupyter

Notebook. The first part of this thesis generally fixates on

the syntax comparison of Python and Java. Here, the team

resolved to select some basic common syntax and features

for learning a programming language. The elements

included in consideration of the report are shown in

figure 3. The second part of the thesis is an

implementation of QuickSort and a game called Tic-Tac-

Toe. They are implemented in both Java and Python and

the comparison was done using the Lines of code (LOC),

file capacity, and speed.

Fig -3: List of the considered elements.

5. Result and Discussion

5.1 Syntax comparison between Java and Python

The team conducted an analysis of all the topics

mentioned in above figure3. The findings and differences

are written below after the comparison was conducted.

Due to the limitations of time the team was not able to do

the study in many details. There were many important

features that were not able to be mentioned in this report

due to the restraint amount of time. Appendix A contains

all the figured mentioned in this section.

 Variables

Variables in Python (shown in figure A1) need not be

declared with a particular datatype before assigning

the value. This makes Python dynamically typed. The

values once set can be changed to another different

type, i.e., if a variable x = 5 where 5 is an integer, in the

next step it can be changed to x= 1j where 1j is a

complex number. Multiple variables can be declared

and stored with the same value in one line using “=” or

with different values respectively separated by a ‘,’.

Python has 2 types of variables: class variable (static

Programming Language

Variable

Casting

Print Function

Comments

Separators

Indentation or Curly brackets

Operators

Strings

User Input

Conditional statements

Loops

Classes and Object

Function and Methods

Scope

Object oriented programming

Access modifier

Method Overloading & Overriding

Exception handling

File handling

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variable) and instance variable which will be

discussed later.

Variables in Java (shown in figure A2) however need

to be declared beforehand along with its type.

Although a variable can be declared before without

assigning the value, it must nonetheless affirm its

datatype while declaring the variable. A variable’s

value can be overwritten but it must be of the same

datatype. Java has a keyword called “final” which

helps in preventing the value from being replaced.

Many variables of the same type can be declared using

a comma-separated list. Java has 3 types of variables:

local variable, static variable (class variable), and

instance variable.

 Casting

Casting is the process to specify a data type to a

variable. In Python, the “type ()” function is used to

display the type of the value stored in the variable.

Casting can be done during the time of declaring the

variable like x=int (1.8) i.e., x=1 where the type(x) will

give an int. Another method of casting can be done

after the value has been assigned such as b=str(a),

where a=1, which means convert the integer 1 stored

in a to a string. Python type casting is shown in figure

A3.

Java has two types of casting: -

a) implicit or widening or automatic type casting:

It is the process of converting smaller data type to a

larger data type like byte to short or int to double. If

the conversion is from short to int where variable a is

a short then int b=a;

b) explicit or narrowing or manual typecasting:

It is the process of converting larger data type to a

smaller data type like double to short or int to byte. If

the conversion is from float to int where variable x is a

float, then int y=(int) x;. Java type casting is shown in

figure A4.

 Print Function

Python only uses print () to display the output (shown

in figure A5). There are two ways to concatenate a

variable to a print statement. Python uses “,” to

display variable in the print function. Whitespace is

added automatically before the value of the variable.

To concatenate a variable to a print function i.e., using

“+” character then the data type of that variable must

always be a String.

Java has a more structured syntax. To concatenate a

variable in a print statement “+” is used.

System.out.print(); prints the strings or references

and System.out.println(); is also similar to the above

but after printing it moves the cursor to the next line.

Java print function is shown in figure A6.

 Comments

Comments are text or code that is written in the

source code to make it more readable. They are not

executed. Python uses the “#” character to declare it

as a comment. For multi-line comments “#” can be

used for each line or “ “ “ ” ” ” (triple quotes) can be

used as python ignore string literals which are not

assigned to a variable (shown in figure A7).

Java uses “//” (two forward slashes) character for

single-line comment, everything after the “//” is

regarded as a comment. For multi-line comment, “ /* ”

is used at the start and “ */ ” is used at the end of the

comment (shown in figure A8). Any text or code

between them is ignored.

 Separators

Python uses whitespace and does not have a specific

symbol to declare a line break (shown in figure A9).

Java uses semicolon “;” character to separate two lines

from each other (shown in figure A10). After every

statement if “;” is not used, it will raise an error.

Programmers are emphasized to check the “;”, as a

massive error will arise even if a single “;” is missed.

 Indentation or Curly brackets

Python uses whitespace to indicate if the code is

inside a loop or not (shown in figure A11). If the codes

are inside a loop it is indented and to indicate code

outside the loop it is outdented. The whitespace

indentation makes the code readable. If there is a

mistake in the indentation then an error will arise.

Java uses curly brackets to determine if the code is

inside a function or loop, etc., (shown in figure A12). If

the code is inside curly brackets then it means it is

within the function. It does not need to follow the

indentation rule which makes their code messy to

read.

 Operators

Python has many forms of operators such as

arithmetic operator (+, *), assignment operator (=,

+=), comparison operator (= =, <), the logical operator

(and, not), identity operator (is, is not), membership

operator (in, not in), the bitwise operator (^, |)

(shown in figure A13).

Java also has different types of operators, some of

them are also similar to Python. Java has arithmetic

operation like ++ and -- for increment and decrement,

unlike Python. Java does not have an identity and

membership operator. For a logical operator in Java

&&, ||, ! are used for and, or, not respectively (shown

in figure A14).

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 Strings

In Python, strings can be written using a single or

double quotation (shown in figure A15). There is no

character datatype in Python. Multiline strings can

also be declared using triple quotes. In Python, strings

are array and there is negative indexing in Python.

Strings in Python are also immutable. There are many

built-in methods for the string. The format method in

string helps in combing string and number without

type-casting. An escape character ‘\’ if an illegal

character inside a string is needed.

Java string can be declared using double quotation “ ”

(shown in figure A16). Java has a separate datatype

called character datatype assigned with a single

quotation ‘’. Strings are treated as objects in Java.

Strings are immutable in Java but can be made

mutable using StringBuffer and StringBuilder. Java

also has an escape character like Python. There are

built-in methods for a string in Java. Multiline string

literals are not supported in Java.

 User Input

In Python, the keyword “input” is used for the user to

input value (shown in figure A17). Everything a user

input Python recognizes it as a string data type. So,

casting becomes necessary if a specific data type value

is needed from the user.

Getting input from the user is not as simple in Java as

in Python. The Scanner class object is created and

java.util.Scanner is imported so that user can input

values. “nextInt()”, “nextFloat()”, “nextLong()”,

“nextDouble()”, “next().charAt(0)” methods are used

to get integer, float, long, double, character inputs

respectively from the user (shown in figure A18, A19).

“next ()” or “nextLine()” is used to get a string.

 Conditional statements

A conditional statement allows a certain group of code

to execute according to the true or false of the given

condition. Python has if, else, elif and nested if

condition (shown in figure A20). It does not include

switch-case like other programming language and

“elif” is used instead of “else if”. As Python relies on

indentation, in order to specify that the code belongs

to the specific condition, the block of code must be

indented and after the condition, there must be a “:”

character. Ternary operators or shorthand methods

for if or if-else is present in Python which is used

when there is only one statement to be executed and it

is put in the same line.

Java’s conditional statements include if, else, else if,

switch case (shown in figure A21). Both the language,

Python and Java use the following logical conditions <,

>, <=, >=, = =, !=. The condition must be inside a “()”

bracket and the statements or code to be executed

inside a “{}” bracket. Java has shorthand if-else to

replace simple if-else condition.

 Loops

Python has while loop, for loop and nested loops

(shown in figure A22). There is no do-while loop in

Python. For loop in Python doesn’t require to be

indexed beforehand, it is more of an iterator method.

Unlike other programming languages, Python for loop

can have an “else” method which is to be executed

when the for loop is over. There can be nested for

loops. While loop in Python is executed as long as the

condition is true. In Python, variable in while loop is to

be initialized before the loop and incremented inside

the loop. There can be nested while loops. Python

while loop can have else method after the completion

of the loop.

Java has for loop, while loop, nested loop and do while

loop (shown in figure A23). For loop in Java is used

when the number of iteration is fixed. There is also a

“for-each” loop only used for iteration through an

array. If the number of iteration is unfixed use “while”.

The variable needs to be initialized first and

incremented or decremented inside the loop. The do-

while loop is used if the codes need to be executed at

least once and the further repeated execution will

continue only if the condition is true.

To terminate the current loop “break” keyword is

used for both the language. Java switch also uses a

break statement to jump out of the loop. Continue in

Python and Java is used to stop the current ongoing

iteration and go on with the next. Pass statement is

only used in Python. It is a null statement. Although

the interpreter doesn’t ignore it, nothing happens

when it is being executed.

 Classes and Objects

Classes are logical grouping which helps in the reuse

of data as part of a code. An object is a collection of

data and methods and class is the blueprint of that

object. The role of an object is represented by

attributes (variable) and action by the method. Python

is an object-oriented programming language and

entirely everything is an object. Python classes are

declared using the keyword “class” (shown in figure

A24). In the example, “s” is the object (instance) of the

class “Stu”. “self” refers to the current class instance. It

used to access variables that belong to the class. The

memory location of the instance that is created is

internally passed to “self”. Python also has a special

constructor method which will be discussed later.

Variables are of two types in a class i.e., class variable

(or static variable) and instance variable. The class

variable is shared by all instances of a class whereas

instance variables are variables that create a separate

copy of thevariable in every instance. Class variables

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can be accessed from any method within the class. The

instance variable requires an instance method to

access it.

Java is an OOP language. In Java, everything is

correlated with class and object. The “class” keyword

is used to define a class in Java (shown in figure A25).

The object in java is used to access members of a class.

The “new” keyword is used when creating a new

object. A Java program can only have one main class

with only one main method. A constructor in Java has

the same name as the class name. Whenever an object

is created in both the language, at least a default

constructor is enforced even if the programmer does

not write a constructor. In the example shown, the

constructor is not present so it is automatically added

during compilation. The static variable (or class

variable) in Java is common for all the instances in

class and uses the “static” keyword. Instance variables

are defined outside method and without the static

keyword. The local variable is inside a method. Java

access modifiers which will be studied in the further

topic.

 Function and Methods

Python function is a block of code that is executed

when called. There are built-in functions and user-

defined functions. To indicate as a function “def”

keyword is used (shown in figure A26). If there is a

function say, “def func(x):” then it can be called using

“func(a)”. Here, x is a parameter and a is an argument.

There is also a term called arbitrary argument

denoted by “*args” if the number of arguments to be

passed is not specified. Python also supports keyword

arguments and the order of the argument doesn’t

matter here. Every argument passed to a function is

treated as the same datatype. Pass statement can be

used to avoid error if the function is empty. If there is

no return statement in a function then “None” is

returned. The function or method in Python supports

multiple return values simultaneously. A function

written inside a class is called a method (shown in

figure A27). Python has a special method called

constructor i.e., def __init__ (self, parameter):. It is used

to declare and initialize an instance variable. The first

parameter for constructor and instance method is

“self”. The instance method in Python is obligated to

object and act on instance variables. Class methods act

on class variables and are bound to the class which

doesn’t require class instance creation.

“@classmethod” is used for a class method. The static

method is used when some operation is associated

with class but does not need the class or instance to

process. “@staticmethod” is used for static methods.

The team won’t dive into details on this topic.

In Java, function and method are the same. There are

many predefined methods in Java. Access modifier,

static or not, return type, and name of the method

must be present in a method while declaring it (shown

in figure A28). The return value must be of the same

data type with the return type declared when the

method is initiated. Return type “void” is used when

there is no return value. The arguments passed must

be in the same order as their respective parameter in

the method. If a method is static it can be called

without creating an object as it belongs to the class.

The static method can access a static variable and

static block only while the non-static method can

access the static variable, non-static variable, static

block, and non-static block. Java constructor is

different from the Java method. A constructor in Java

cannot have any return value (shown in figure A29). A

constructor cannot be abstract or static or final and it

can be overloaded but cannot be overridden.

Overloading in Java will be studied in further topics.

 Scope

The scope is the region where a variable is accessible

and that region is where the variable is created. In

Python, a variable that is created inside a function or

method is called a local variable, and the region is

called local scope. A local variable cannot be accessed

or modified outside the function. A variable created

outside any function is known as a global variable and

it comes under the Global scope. This variable can be

accessed from any part of the program even inside a

function also. The global keyword is used if a global

variable is to be modified inside a function (shown in

figure A30).

In Java set of curly brackets define a scope (shown in

figure A31). A variable declared inside a class but

outside any function is call class variable scope. It can

be accessed and modified from anywhere inside the

class. If a variable is declared inside a method, then it

is called local or method variable scope. It can be

accessed and modified inside the specific method only.

If a variable is declared inside the block scope that is

in between curly brackets, no matter if the block of

quotes exists on its own or belong to the if, while, or

for statements then the variable will only be

accessible and modifiable inside the block scope.

There is a static and non-static block in Java. If the

static block is present then, it is executed before the

main block. A static block can access static variables

only. Non-Static block can access the static and non-

static variables.

 Object-oriented programming (OOP)

Object-oriented programming is a programming

paradigm that is based on the object containing data

members and methods. It increases the flexibility and

maintainability of programs by making the data

member and methods come together. Class is a

blueprint for the object. Class and object will be

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discussed later. The four main characteristics of

object-oriented programming are abstraction,

encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.

a) Abstraction

Hiding certain details and showing only essential

information to the user is an abstraction of data.

In Python, the abstract method is declared but

doesn’t have any implementation (shown in figure

A32). A class having one or more abstract

methods is called an abstract class. Abstract class

can’t be instantiated and to implement the

abstract method sub-class is required. Python by

default doesn’t provide abstract class, so it comes

with a module named ABC (Abstract Base Classes)

and uses the keyword “@abstractmethod” as a

decorator to make a method abstract.

In Java, a class declared with the “abstract”

keyword is called abstract class (shown in figure

A33). It can have abstract and non-abstract

methods. An abstract method cannot be

instantiated (an object cannot be created) but can

have a constructor, static, and final method. A

method is abstract if it is declared with the

keyword “abstract” and doesn’t have an

implementation (i.e., no method body). The

abstract method must always be followed with a

“;”. The Abstract method can only be used with an

abstract class in Java.

b) Inheritance

Inheritance is the process of creating new classes

from existing classes so that the new class can

acquire all the features of the existing class. It

provides code reusability. In Python, the new

class created is called the child class or superclass

and the class from which it is inherited is called

parent or subclass. In Python, a base class can be

inherited by a derived class by just mentioning

the base class in the bracket (shown in figure

A34). The child constructor overrides the

inheritance of the parent constructor (i.e.,

constructor overriding) so, to keep the parent

constructor add a call of the parent’s “init”

function. The “super()” is used to call the parent

class constructor or method from the child class

(shown in figure A35). The “super()” function

helps the child class to automatically inherit all

the properties and methods of the parent class.

Python supports single inheritance, multiple

inheritances, multilevel inheritance, hierarchical

inheritance, and hybrid inheritance.

Java uses the keyword “extends” for making a

derived class from the existing class. In Java, the

new class is called the child or subclass and the

inherited class is called the parent or superclass.

The “final” keyword when used in a class prevents

it from being inherited (shown in figure A36). Java

supports single inheritance, multilevel

inheritance, hierarchical inheritance, and hybrid

inheritance. Java doesn't support multiple

inheritances to avoid the ambiguity caused by it.

In Java, constructor chaining refers to child class

constructor calling the parent class constructor.

The keyword “super” is used. When a shadowing

problem occurs i.e. when there is a name conflict

of variables within a setter between instance

variable i.e., global variable and a local variable,

the “this” keyword is used (shown in figure A37).

c) Polymorphism

Polymorphism is one of the important features of

object-oriented programming which allows a

single action to be performed in different ways. If

a class contains the same method with different

implementation then the class is polymorphic.

Polymorphism makes code easy to change,

maintain, and increase flexibility. In Python,

operator overloading where an operator performs

additional action is an example of polymorphism.

Functions such as “len()” that can be executed

with multiple data types are polymorphic. Python

allows duck typing where the object that is not

checked while invoking the method on the object

and any object is accepted if the method is found

in the object (shown in figure A38). Method

overriding where the subclass method replaces

and overrides the same method in the superclass

during inheritance is also an example of

polymorphism.

In Java, polymorphism means one entity

processing multiple forms (shown in figure A39).

All Java objects are polymorphic. Polymorphism

in Java has two types that are runtime

polymorphism (or dynamic polymorphism) and

compile-time polymorphism (or static

polymorphism). Compile-time polymorphism

includes method overloading and operator

overloading. Runtime polymorphism includes

method overriding. Java doesn't support user-

defined operator overloading. Method

overloading in Java allows us to have more than

one method with the same name but the

parameters of the method are to be different in

number or sequence order type of parameter. The

method with the same name can the same a

number of parameters are in the superclass and

subclass the method to be Court is determined at

runtime by JVM. Method overloading and

overriding will be discussed in detail later.

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d) Encapsulation

Encapsulation is wrapping up of data under a

single unit. It is a protective shield that prevents

unauthorized access to data from outside the

shield. Access modifiers which will be discussed

later play an important role in data encapsulation.

Python has a public, protected, and private

members (shown in figure A40). Java has public,

private, default, and protected members (shown

in figure A41). Encapsulation makes our code

cleaner and easy to read. Encapsulation is a way

to achieve data hiding in Java so that other classes

will not be able to access data in private data

members. In Java, by providing only the getter

and setter method we can make the class write-

only or read-only. If all the variables in the class

are declared private and the getter and setter

method public to set and get values of variable

then it is considered as encapsulation.

 Access modifier

Like all the object-oriented programming languages,

Python also has access modifiers i.e., private, public,

protected. The access modifier helps in preventing the

data from being exploited and secure it from

unauthorized access. With the help of the underscore

“_”, Python specifies access modifier. The members

declared as public are accessible from outside the

class by everyone. The members declared as protected

are accessible from within and outside the class but

only in a class derived from i.e., a child or subclass.

Prefix single underscore “_” being added to a data

member of a class make it protected (shown in figure

A42). The private members are only accessible within

the class and the member for a class are made private

by adding double underscore “__” (shown in figure

A43). All members in a python program are by default

public.

Java has four access modifiers i.e., private, default,

protected, and public. Private data members and

methods are accessible only inside the class where

they are created and then not accessible anywhere

else. The keyword “private” is used for it (shown in

figure A45). When no access modifier is specified, then

it is called the default access modifier. Default data

members and methods are accessible only in the

package where they are created. They are not

accessible inside the different packages. The Protected

data members and methods can be accessed in the

same package and extend the class in different

package i.e., through child class. The keyword

“protected” is used for it (shown in figure A44). Public

data members can be accessed from anywhere inside

and outside the package or class. The keyword

“public” is used. This access modifier comes in handy

during data encapsulation of OOP.

 Method Overloading & Overriding

Method overloading occurs when there is more than

one method with the same name but different

parameters in the class. Method overriding is a

concept of replacing the same method with the same

number of parameters in the child class that is defined

in the parent class. Both method overloading and

overriding are features of polymorphism. Method

overloading is not supported in Python (shown in

figure A46) because Python only keeps the last

declared method. Python supports method overriding

(shown in figure A47). Python constructor supports

overriding only.

In Java, method overloading happens at compile time

(shown in figure A48) and method overriding at

runtime (shown in figure A49). Method overloading

gives better performance then method overriding

since overloading is done at compile time. Static

methods can be overloaded but it cannot be

overridden. Methods like Private and final can be

overloaded but cannot be overridden. In method

overriding, the return type can be the same, or return

type may vary in the same direction as the derived

class. In method overloading, the return type can be

the same, or vary. Java constructor can only be

overloaded not overridden.

 Exception handling

Exception handling is the process done by the

programmer to handle the run-time errors leading to

termination of the normal execution of a program due

to erroneous input by the user, network connection

problems, etc. There are many in-built exceptions in

Python that are raised when the Python interpreter

encounters an exception. The code or operation which

can raise an error are placed in the “try” block, the

exceptions are then handled in the “except” block. The

“finally” block is used when there are certain codes

that need to be executed regardless of the exception

being handled or not (shown in figure A50). Python

also has specific exceptions. If the exception is not

executed and else block is also present only then else

block will be executed. Python also can throw an

exception by using the “raise” keyword.

In Java, the “try” block must be accompanied by either

a “catch” or “finally” block or both “catch” and “finally”

block (shown in figure A51). The “try” block must

always come before a “catch” block. If “finally” block is

to be used, then it should be predated by a “try” block

or try-catch block. The block of code where an

exception can occur is placed in the “try” block and

“catch” block handle it. The “finally” block contains

code that is to be executed regardless of the

occurrence of the exception. The “throw” keyword is

used inside a method and can only throw a single

exception. The “throws” keyword is used to declare

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multiple exceptions that can occur in the statements

present in the method. It is used along the side of the

method signature. There can be multiple catch blocks,

where the most specific catch block must be followed

by a generic catch block so that it can handle the

unexpected exceptions.

 File handling

Python has an inbuilt method for reading, writing, and

creating files so importing an external package is not

needed. To open a specific file in a specific way “open

()” function along with the mode as a parameter is

used. The different modes of operations are r (read-

only) it arises an error if the file does not exists,

w(write) it creates a new file if it does not exist,

a(append to the end of the file) it create a new file if it

does not exist, x(write) create the specified file and

return an error if the file exists, t(text mode),

b(binary mode), +(open a file for updating) (shown in

figure A52). The OS module is imported and

“os.remove()” is used to delete a file (shown in figure

A53).

Java has several different methods for file

management. Java uses the I/O package to work with

different operations on a file. java.io.File is imported

and an object of the file class is created specifying the

file. Java uses the concept of the stream for input and

output in a file. To create a file “createNewFile()” is

used (shown in figure A54) and this method returns

true if the file is successfully created and false if

already exists. A try-catch block is necessary for when

the file cannot be created for some reason throwing an

ioException. The fileWriter class and “write ()”

method is used to write on a file (shown in figure

A55). The delete method is used for deleting a file. The

Scanner class is used to read a file (shown in figure

A56). The file methods such as “getName()”,

“canWrite()”, “length()”, etc., are used to get

information for a file and delete() to delete a file

(shown in figure A57).

5.2 Code Implementation

The team implemented the QuickSort algorithm and Tic-

Tac-Toe game in both Java and Python and also analyzed

the result in terms of Lines of code, file capacity, and

speed.

a) Quick Sort Algorithm

Only the code for the QuickSort algorithm was from

the GeeksforGeeks website [18] so as to achieve more

reliability in the structure of the algorithm. The team

added additional code for reading text files that

contain the numbers to be sorted and run-time

calculations. The team created four text files

containing 100000, 500000, 1000000, 1500000

randomly generated numbers respectively. The

sorting algorithm was then executed using each text

file for both the languages. For Python, the

“%%timeit” Jupyter magic function is used to calculate

the approx. execution time. For Java, “Instant.now()” is

used to calculate the elapsed time. Python consumed

more time than Java for the program to be executed in

all the four cases. Since the algorithm is for sorting,

the program in both the language executes faster

when executed a second time. So, only the first

execution is considered for this report. Java will be a

better choice for a large set of entries as it executes

faster than Python.

From Table 1, it is observed that Java is faster than

Python, and Figure 4 displays the graph for the

comparison.

Table 1: Quick Sort Execution Time Comparison

Number of

Integers to

be Sorted

JAVA

PYTHON

1,00,000

334ms

753ms

5,00,000

877ms

4480ms

10,00,000

1528ms

9140ms

15,00,000

2125ms

14200ms

Fig-4: Quick Sort Execution Time Comparison Graph

From Table 2, it is observed that Python has lesser

lines of code and file size when compared with Java.

Figure 5 and Figure 6 displays the graph for the

comparison.

0 5000 10000 15000

100000

500000

1000000

1500000

334

877

1528

2125

753

4480

9140

14200

Time in millisecond

Number of integers

Quick Sort Execution Time Comparision

python

java

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Table 2: File Size and Lines of Code Comparison in

Quick Sort

Programming

Language

Lines of

Code (LOC)

File Size (in

bytes)

Python

22

1372

Java

57

1533

Fig-5: Quick Sort File Size Comparison

Fig-6: Quick Sort Lines of Code Comparison

b) Tic-Tac-Toe Game

The team implemented the game tic-tac-toe for two

players. There is an option for the number of times

that the players want to play the game i.e., a game for

one round only or three rounds or five rounds. The

players input the name they want to be represented

and randomly a player will be chosen using the

random method in both the languages i.e., Java and

Python. According to the randomly chosen player,

markers will be inserted respectively. The board of

the game has 9 positions and the game will be

continued until and unless there is a win or tie. For the

game of three or five rounds, the player name and the

chosen marker will not be changed and will be flipped

together until the game is over. The score will be

displayed for every round and the final score along

with the execution time is displayed after the game is

over completely. The execution time differs according

to the time taken by the players to input the value. The

team only considered the play where the player wins

and the input is given at a somewhat fast speed to

analyze the execution time. The program in Java is a

bit complex in structure and longer in length than the

program written in Python. However, the Java

program executes faster in all cases than Python.

From Table 3, it is also observed that Java is faster

than Python and Figure 7 displays the graph for the

comparison

Table 3: Tic-Tac-Toe Execution Time Comparison

Number of

Rounds

Python

Java

1

12.3sec

11sec

3

31.7sec

29sec

5

51.3sec

46sec

Fig-7: Tic-Tac-Toe Time Comparison

From Table 4, it is also observed that Python has

lesser lines of code and file size when compared with

Java. Figure 8 and Figure 9 displays the graph for the

comparison.

1250

1300

1350

1400

1450

1500

1550

python java

File Size in Byte

Quick Sort File Size Comparision

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

python java

Lines of code

Quick Sort Lines of Code Comparison

0 20 40 60

1

3

5

11

29

46

12.3

31.7

51.3

python

java

Time Comparision for Tic Tac Toe Game

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Table 4: File Size and Lines of Code Comparison in

Tic-Tac-Toe

Programming

Language

Lines of

Code (LOC)

File Size (in

bytes)

Python

213

10729

Java

372

8583

Fig-8 Tic-Tac-toe File Size Comparison

Fig-9 Tic-Tac-Toe Lines of code Comparison

6. FUTURE SCOPE

Due to certain limitations where the major drawback was

a time restraint, the team failed to consider more than two

languages. Only some basic syntax and features are

considered in this report. There are many important

characteristics that need to be considered which were not

included in this report. So, it will be engrossing to compare

different other languages along with a deep analysis of the

language. Although Python is slow, why it is favored for

use in Big Data, Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence,

etc. can also be discussed. An experiment can be

conducted where some novices are made to undergo a

course in the language and observe their performance.

Factors such as security, reliability, durability, and

maintainability may be considered during the comparison.

Comparison of language on the basis of their uses and

which would be favored for the same applications as

which language is better to be used for web development

can be an ideal topic for further research.

7. CONCLUSIONS

The team conducted an analysis for which programming

will be better for a beginner such that they do not lose

interest and confidence in the process. The team selected

only two languages i.e., Java and Python which may not be

the best option for some cases. The team acknowledges

the fact that there are many other programming languages

which surpasses the two mentioned languages. Python

and Java were preferred for the fact that they are popular

and there is a vast community that supports them [14,15].

The vast community for these two languages plays an

important role since when a beginner encounters an

obstacle or does not understand a concept, they can seek

help from the respective communities.

The team inferred that both the languages considered in

this report have their own advantages and disadvantages

in their respective fields. It cannot be said with conviction

that one of them is better than the other. Although Java is

somewhat complex than Python in structure, it provides a

better understanding of memory management and is more

secure. Python is short, simple, and easy. A novice can

easily understand a Python program for it is written in

simple English. In Python since indentation is compulsory,

it makes the code more readable. However, this is not the

case for Java as there is no effect for indentation and the

whole program can be written in one line to make it look

short. The use of semicolon which indicates the end of the

line in Java is sometimes overlooked which leads to a

major compilation error. Python being dynamically typed

leads to longer execution time as the variable type is

checked during run time whereas Java is statically typed

so the exact datatype for variables is known during

compilation leading to faster execution than Python.

Most of the programming language has similar

fundamentals, therefore regardless of which language is

chosen the person can learn another programming

language easily. The novice must not keep changing the

language before mastering it as it will lead to a loss of

confidence. So, the novice should choose the programming

language according to the goals they prefer. If the person

would like to go for app development, then choose Java or

Swift or Flutter. If the person wants to create a game than

a language like JavaScript, Java, C or C++ may be preferred.

If the person is interested in web development or Artificial

Intelligence, etc., then language like Python, JavaScript,

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

python java

File Size in Byte

Tictactoe file size comparision

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

python java

Lines of code

TicTaeToe Lines of code Comparison

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Ruby will be favorable. Thus, a beginner must first know

what he/she would like to work on in the future or pick an

area of interest. After that, according to their interests, the

language must be chosen.

8. REFERENCES

[1] Monica, N., O. Ogbuokiri Blessing, and O. Okwume

Benedette. "Comparison of python and java for use in

instruction in first course in computer programming."

[2] Insanudin, E. "Implementation of python source code

comparison results with Java using bubble sort

method." Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Vol.

1280. No. 3. IOP Publishing, 2019.

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1280/3/032027

[3] Bogdanchikov, A., M. Zhaparov, and R. Suliyev.

"Python to learn programming." Journal of Physics:

Conference Series. Vol. 423. No. 1. IOP Publishing,

2013.

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/423/1/012027

[4] Kasurinen, Jussi. "Python as a programming language

for the introductory programming courses." (2007).

[5] Åkesson, Tobias, and Rasmus Horntvedt. "Java, Python

and Javascript, a comparison." (2019).

[6] Pellet, Jean-Philippe, Amaury Dame, and Gabriel

Parriaux. "How beginner-friendly is a programming

language? A short analysis based on Java and Python

examples." (2019).

[7] Adawadkar, Kalyani. "Python Programming-

Applications and Future." International Journal of

Advanced Engineering and Research Development.

http://ijaerd. com/papers/special_papers/IT032.

pdf (2017).

[8] Fatima, N., and S. Arabia. "Performance comparison of

most common high level programming

languages." International Journal of Computing

Academic Research (IJCAR) 5.5 (2016): 246-258.

[9] Srinath, K. R. "Python–The Fastest Growing

Programming Language." International Research

Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) 4.12

(2017): 354-357.

[10] Pears, Arnold, Stephen Seidman, Lauri Malmi, Linda

Mannila, Elizabeth Adams, Jens Bennedsen, Marie

Devlin, and James Paterson. "A survey of literature on

the teaching of introductory programming."

In Working group reports on ITiCSE on Innovation

and technology in computer science education, pp.

204-223. 2007.

[11] Foster, Elvis. “A comparative analysis of the C++, Java,

and Python Languages.” (2014)

[12] McMaster, Kirby, et al. "Java vs. Python coverage of

introductory programming concepts: a textbook

analysis." Information Systems Education Journal 15.3

(2017): 4.

[13] https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/devecosystem-2020/

[14] http://pypl.github.io/PYPL.html

[15] https://octoverse.github.com/

[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming

_language)

[17] Donaldson, Toby. "Python as a first programming

language for everyone." Western Canadian Conference

on Computing Education. Vol. 232. 2003.

[18] Dr. R. Nageswara Rao. “Core Python Programming”.

New Delhi: Dreamtech Press; 2018

9. Appendix

A. Syntax

Fig A1. Python Variable

Fig A2. Java Variable

Fig A3. Python Casting

Fig A4. Java Casting

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Fig A5. Python Print

Fig A6. Java Print

Fig A7. Python Comment

Fig A8. Java Comment

Fig A9. Python separator

Fig A10. Java separator

Fig A11. Python indentation

Fig A12. Java curly bracket

Fig A13. Python operator

Fig A14. Java operator

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Fig A15. Python string

Fig A16. Java string

Fig A17. Python User input

Fig A18. Java User input

Fig A19. Java User input (output)

Fig A20. Python Conditional

Fig A21. Java Conditional

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Fig A22. Python Loop

Fig A23. Java Loop

Fig A24. Python class

Fig A25. Java class

Fig A26. Python Function

Fig A27. Python Method

Fig A28. Java Method

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Fig A29. Java Constructor Overload

Fig A30. Python Scope

Fig A31. Java Scope

Fig A32. Python Abstract

Fig A33. Java Abstract

Fig A34. Python Single Inheritance

Fig A35. Python super()

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Fig A36. Java Inheritance

Fig A37. Java Constructor chaining

Fig A38. Python polymorphism

Fig A39. Java Polymorphism

Fig A40. Python Encapsulation

Fig A41. Java Encapsulation

Fig A42. Python protected

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Fig A43. Python private

Fig A44. Java protected

Fig A45. Java Public Default Private

Fig A46. Python Overloading

Fig A47. Python Overriding

Fig A48. Java Overloading

Fig A49. Java Overriding

Fig A50. Python Exception

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Fig A51. Java Exception

Fig A52. Python File handling1

Fig A53. Python file handling2

Fig A54. Java create file

Fig A55. Java Write on the file

Fig A56. Java read file

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Fig A57. Java delete file