Comparing Python vs C++ Speed and More

Programming can be a really fun and profitable way of building a future career path, but there are certain things that you need to decide before actually starting to learn this skill. One of the main choices that lay ahead of you is the programming language (for example – Python VS C++) – before you can start learning any form of programming, you’ll need to figure out which of the languages suit you the best. This can be a tough choice to make, especially if you’re completely new to the world of programming, in general. That’s why today, in this C++ VS Python comparison article, we are going to take a look at two of the more popular programming languages out there. Assuming that you have little to no prior knowledge and experience in the field of programming, we’re going to start off by talking about all of the different benefits that this profession can bring. Even if you’re already an advanced coder, it will serve as a useful refresher of some of the fundamental aspects of programming. After that, we’ll be taking a look at the individual languages mentioned in this comparison article. Finally, once we establish the main points of comparison, we’ll try to answer the question “Python VS C++: which one should you learn?”.

Introduction

We’ve established the fact that programming can be a great career opportunity. But why is that the case? Seeing that each individual person has his or her own preferences as to why they want to learn programming, let’s mention some of the main ones that almost everyone shares. First of all, job security. Yes, you’ve probably heard this mentioned a million times before, but it’s impossible to talk about programming and not mention the career security that it provides. At any given time, the job market is in a huge need of professional and reliable programmers. All that you need to do is perform a simple Google search for “programming jobs” or “coding jobs”, and you’ll see endless listings pop up (they might, however, vary – it depends on your place of residence). The reasoning behind this is quite simple, too. And it actually has a lot to do with the topic of Python VS C++. Every day, there are new and emerging software or web development-based companies that are entering the market. These companies need professional programmers in order to be able to keep on growing their respective platforms. That said, you’ll often see different companies use different programming languages. It all kind of depends on the platform that they’re working on. Furthermore, this is the reason why comparisons like “C++ VS Python” are so popular. People are trying to figure out which coding languages are the best for certain specific purposes, and are then massively trying to learn them. And, of course, it would be impossible to talk about programming without mentioning the programmer’s salary. This is probably one of the first things (sadly, it’s often the only thing) that people mention when they are discussing whether or not it’s worth becoming a programmer.

The field of IT (or, if you’d like to be a bit more specific – the branch of Computer Science) has a long-lasting reputation of being the most profitable career path in the world. Data analysts and scientists, software and web developers, programmers – these are just a few groups of people that (usually) make a great living doing what they do. And while salary isn’t necessarily the most important aspect of a job (although many people would probably tend to argue), it sure is on the top of the list. As you can see, there are multiple reasons why programming is a great career path to follow – these are just some of the more commonly-discussed ones. With that said, let us move on with the “Python VS C++” article and talk about each of the languages separately, starting with Python.

Python

Created back in 1991 by a man named Guido van Rossum, Python is a general-purpose programming language that stresses readability as its main, leading feature. From the very early days of development, Python was intended to be as simple to use as possible. Simplicity is actually what it’s known for – Python utilizes a plentiful amount of whitespace to make its code easily readable, thus providing a pleasant and simple learning experience. Because of its simplicity, Python can often become a subject of controversy. Now, you might be thinking – why would it? Isn’t simplicity a good thing? And while being easy to learn is great for beginners, some programming veterans hold a different opinion (this is an important point in any Python VS C++ comparison). Python is a high-level programming language. This means that there are little amounts of actual coding involved – instead, most of Python’s syntax is written in a similar manner as plain, common, every-day English. Again – while this is great news if you want to learn a coding language as soon as possible, a lot of industry’s senior programmers claim that this takes away the entire point and spirit of programming. According to them, if a newbie chooses the “easy way out”, he or she misses the opportunity to learn super-valuable problem-solving and rational thinking skills and avoids the backbone on which the whole industry is built. Even though the above-mentioned Python VS C++ debate points are open for discussion and interpretation, one of the more undeniable things about Python is that it’s very easily adaptable to multiple different platforms. Desktop, web development, data work – you name it! This is the very core information about Python that we’ll require in this C++ VS Python article. Now, let’s move on and talk about C++.

C++

Same as Python, C++ is a general-purpose programming language designed for daily usage and adaptability. The latter feature is very important (in the Python VS C++ discussion, both of the languages have it) since it means that a coding language is more or less object-oriented and is thus able to work faster and more efficiently. C++ was created by a computer scientist named Bjarne Stroustrup, all the way back in 1979. Although it was originally called “C with Classes”, the name was changed to “C++” with the addition of multiple different features in 1983. Please do keep in mind that this is a super TL;DR version of how C++ came to be – there’s a whole backstory behind it, but we’re simply going through the very basic facts so as to save time and not get carried away. C++ is the opposite of Python when it comes to the simplicity aspect. It’s actually considered to be one of the hardest (if not THE hardest) programming languages out there. Its super-difficult syntax allows C++ to be extremely flexible – this is also the reason why it is often chosen to work with projects that are being designed for multiple different platforms at once. I’ve already mentioned this is the beginning of this part of the Python VS C++ comparison article, but C++ (same as Python) is also highly regarded for being an object-oriented coding language. I said that this makes the language fast and efficient, but I never truly explained what “object-oriented” actually means. An object-oriented programming language possesses the ability to perform runtime processes while simultaneously ignoring smaller, less-important details. To put it very simply, these languages have certain specific features that allow them to understand the context behind a task without having an in-depth analysis of the details. This, in turn, makes the processes performed with the help of these languages much faster. Most of the current top-tier programming languages are object-oriented. So, now that you have some context behind both Python and C++, we can continue our Python VS C++ comparison article and see if we can establish specific points o interest which would then help us effectively compare the two languages.

Criteria of Analysis

When looking at a programming language, there are many aspects from which you could begin a thorough analysis. For the sake of saving time and not dragging the Python VS C++ comparison longer than it should be, I’ll be talking about a few of the most commonly-referenced features. The three points that we’ll be covering in this article are speed, popularity, and salary. Just so that we could be sure that we’re both on the same page, let’s briefly look over each of these points individually.

Speed

When it comes to the Python VS C++ speed, it is one of the most popular discussions on online forums concerning the two programming languages. And this isn’t without a solid reason, either! A good coding language has to be fast – otherwise, it will be inefficient and will fall short in comparison to other, faster languages. There’s not really all that much more to add to this point – we’ll see how the two coding languages in question pair against each other concerning their speed soon enough.

Popularity

Although this might seem like a trivial point to analyze at first, it’s actually really relevant to our comparison. Let me elaborate. In its most basic form, popularity can signify that a programming language is doing something right. After all, if a language was completely useless or simply too difficult to learn, no one would use it, right? Furthermore, if you were to learn a popular programming language, chances are that you’d have a much nicer time than with one that is niche and completely unknown. This is because of two major factors – online resources and communities. While it’s bad enough to not be able to find a single person who could share their experience with learning the language, it’s even worse if there is no information and the actual language found online.

Salary

Honestly, this point is the most self-explanatory out of them all. As I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this Python VS C++ tutorial, programming can be a really profitable career path to follow. However, different coding languages tend to yield different salaries. There are many reasons for why that’s the case – some companies might require certain specific languages for their development processes, others might simply want to use the time-tested and well-known programming languages. Whatever the case might be, the fact still stands true – not all languages offer the same programmer’s salary.

Python VS C++

So, we have finally reached the point of the Python VS C++ comparison itself. The way that we’ll go about this is by talking about each of the above-mentioned points separately. In the very end, I’ll let you make up your own mind on which of the two languages is more worth the time and effort to learn since you will then have all of the information in front of your eyes. I will, however, give you a piece of advice on the matter.

Which is Faster?

Since the Python VS C++ speed is such an important aspect, we’ll talk about it first.

From the general feedback found online, it seems that C++ tends to be the faster alternative between the two. C++ is considered to have a faster execution time mainly because its contender – Python – is written in C. As I’ve already mentioned, though, C++ is often viewed as the fastest programming language in the world, so it takes this point without too much of a competition. Now that we have the Python VS C++ speed question answered, let’s move on to popularity.

Which is more Popular?

Even though this is a difficult point to analyze, it’s pretty clear that both Python and C++ have very dedicated followings online. Since at this stage numbers stop to matter, it is probably safe to say that it all depends on the group of people in question – beginner and novice programmers tend to turn towards Python, while people who already have some experience in the field show a lot of interest in C++.

Which has the better Salary?

If you’re having a hard time deciding which of the two languages might suit you more, perhaps the difference in their salaries will help your decision making. According to Glassdoor.com, Python developers can expect to make an average of $92,000 USD per year, which would roughly come out to be $7670 USD per month. C++ devs are expected to earn around $95,000 USD per year, or almost $7920 USD per month. What do these salaries tell us? The difference is very low, and that’s rather surprising. It’s odd because C++ is seen a very difficult programming language to master, while Python aims for simplicity. Honestly, this small difference in salary might just be one of the main reasons why more and more people are choosing to learn Python.

Conclusions

So, we’ve reached the end of our Python VS C++ comparison. Did you manage to choose a favorite of the two? Or are you still unsure? To be honest, both of the languages have their pros and cons. When we’re comparing two programming languages of such notoriety, it all kind of ends up depending on your own personal preferences.

Whichever language you might choose, I hope that this article has brought some more clearance in your mind. Best of luck!