Java vs. Python Programming Language Comparison

Java and Python are two popular programming languages that represent two very different approaches to structure and syntax. Java has a more formal, strict syntax. Python syntax is more forgiving and provides many shortcuts and abbreviations. Java is compiled and Python is interpreted.

The table below shows a sampling of Java and Python programming language elements that highlight these differences.

	Java	Python
Block	{    . . . }	def my_block( ):       . . .       CR
Class Definition	public class Hello {    . . . }	class Hello:       . . .       CR
Class Constructor	public Hello(Strng msg) {     defaultMsg=msg; }	def __init__(self, param1, param2, ...)       self.p1=param1       self.p2=param2       CR
Class Instantiation	Hello mHello=new Hello();	mHello=Hello( )
Class Variable	static String myVariable;	class MyClass:       my_class_variable = 0
Comment	// Comment text.	# Comment text.
Constant	final static MY_CONSTANT;	MY_CONSTANT
Conditional	if (a>b) {    . . . }  else {    . . . }	if (a>b):       . . . else:       . . .
Exception Handling	try { . . . } catch { . . . }	try:       . . . except Error, e:       . . .
Global Variable	public class MyGlobals {    public static String mG1 }	global my_global_variable
Importing	import java.sql.*;	import apackage as ap from apackage import amodule
Inheritance	class Child extends Parent{...}	class Child(Parent):
Instance Variable	// Declared outside methods String mVariable;	class Hello:       def __init__(self, param1)             self.param1=param1
Iteration	for (i=0; i<5; i++) {     . . . } for (myElement : myCollection){     . . . }	for x in range(0, 5):       . . . for my_element in my_collection:        . . . for key, value in my_dictionary:        . . .
Local Variable	String myVariable;	my_variable
Method Definition	public void myIdea(String param) {    . . . }	def my_idea(my_parameter):       . . .       CR
Method Use	myIdea(mParameter);	my_idea(my_parameter)
Namespace Reference	packageName;	my_namespace={'a':a_object, ...}
Null Value	null	None
Statement Separator	;	new line
Variable	String mString="Hello Java";	my_string="Hello Python"