Google App Engine — Java or Python? [closed]

Question

I noticed that this was asked in the following post. Has anyone used both and can conclusively tell me which is better? It seems like python might be a little easier to implement and faster?

Answer 1

I have used both, and my conclusion is that biggest difference is in libraries. In theory both have good libraries to do almost everything but in practice many libraries don't work with app engine:

• All Java libraries are pure Java and should work, but as app engine does not allow threads and not even all *java.** dependencies it is... lets say problematic.
• Python on the other hand have way less libraries out there, and many are just wrappers for native C libraries, which don't work either. :(

As both versions have such bad support for libraries, I call it tie. For very simple "just to show some content" -web app you don't need any external libraries of course.

I use now Python because it rules. ;)

Answer 2

Its not just the language that you need to consider here. Libraries, frameworks, and tools are also relevant factors.

If you have no background in either language or web development, I would suspect Python would be easier to get off the ground with. It has been around longer, there is likely more support and knowledge available. Doing something simple is generally simple to do and the Python framework is in my opinion more lightweight.

Despite this, I would rather use Java. However, my reasons are controversial and I don't want to troll :D.

Answer 3

"Better" is always subjective. For GAE, the choice of which is better for you depends on what you're most familiar with. If you've got experience with Java, use that, and if you've got experience with Python, use that. I don't think there's any objective criteria that would point to one being "better" than the other.

Answer 4

Python was the language Google AppEngine was originally designed for, and it has been supported for longer than Java (which only got included comparatively recently). Additionally, Guido van Rossum, the creator of Python, works on the Python side of AppEngine. The same can not be said about Java's creator.

It seems that there is more documentation and articles about Python on AppEngine than Java, probably because Python has been used in AppEngine for longer.

My advise: Use Python. But that doesn't mean Java is a bad choice, because it is not, I just think Python is a better choice in this instance.