Nemanja Grubor
2 Feb 2021
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2 min read
Long ago, I've done a simple ChatBot app with JavaScript (no Frameworks), HTML and CSS. I've lost it (didn't have GitHub account yet, and didn't upload it to som cloud - like GDrive).
This gave me an idea to compare JavaScript and Python for AI apps (because caugh, caugh - Python is very much known in Data Science and AI).
Python and JavaScript both have machine learning libraries and modules. JavaScript trains models through node.js and has frameworks like KeraJS, Deeplearn.JS, etc. for machine learning. Python also has many built-in libraries for data analysis and computations. But the difference is you can also do data cleaning, processing, and analytics functions through its libraries. TensorFlow, Scipy, and Numpy are some libraries that you can use to that effect. Python also has ML frameworks like Web2py and pylon which handle data robustly.
If you want to use your data models extensively, you might wish to use JavaScript. Along with using browsers to run training models, it also reduces server handling changes. But if your application is already primed towards Python, i.e., Python has already solved your business problem, it would make sense to go towards a complete Python solution.
Both JavaScript and Python have object-oriented and functional approaches. Both of them have a multi-paradigm approach for programming. However, JavaScript is a little bit harder to code. That is because JavaScript has extra complications such as class definitions, single inheritance problems, etc. Python is user friendly and relatively easy for coding. It’s a procedural programming language, i.e. it relies on a certain predefined set of steps. The commands, functions and statements are defined in a sequence. Since the steps are well structured, it’s easy to maintain and review the code.
Performance-wise, JavaScript is a bit faster than Python since the former uses node.js and is built in Chrome V8. JavaScript is also better for applications that require real-time dynamic interaction. It also works on non-block objects. Also, JavaScript can build the whole website, front and back end, and it’s suited for website and ERP applications because of its ability to support both domains. Programmers mainly use Python for the back end and server-side scripting. Python is also used for analytics and math-intensive projects, as it’s easy to code and can be used to create wide-scale large-sized projects.
Because I have previous experience in JavaScript, I would lean toward JavaScript. But, it doesn't mean that I won't learn Python. When I start learning it, only then could I tell which one is really better.
For now, I've just gave a quick comparison.
Nemanja Grubor
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