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Python VS Erlang

Compare Python VS Erlang and see what are their differences

Python logo Python

Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

Erlang logo Erlang

A programming language used to build massively scalable soft real-time systems with requirements on high availability
  • Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

  • Erlang Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-09

We recommend LibHunt Erlang for discovery and comparisons of trending Erlang projects.

Python features and specs

  • Easy to Learn
    Python syntax is clear and readable, which makes it an excellent choice for beginners and allows for quick learning and prototyping.
  • Versatile
    Python can be used for web development, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and more, making it a highly versatile programming language.
  • Large Standard Library
    Python comes with a comprehensive standard library that includes modules and packages for various tasks, reducing the need to write code from scratch.
  • Strong Community Support
    Python has a large and active community, which means a wealth of third-party packages, tutorials, and documentation is available for assistance.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Python is compatible with major operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing for easy development and deployment across different platforms.
  • Good for Rapid Development
    The high-level nature of Python allows for quick development cycles and fast iteration, which is ideal for startups and prototyping.

Possible disadvantages of Python

  • Performance Limitations
    Python is generally slower than compiled languages like C or Java because it is an interpreted language, which can be a drawback for performance-critical applications.
  • Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)
    The GIL in CPython, the most used Python interpreter, prevents multiple native threads from executing Python bytecodes at once, limiting multi-threading capabilities.
  • Memory Consumption
    Python can be more memory-intensive compared to some other languages, which might be a concern for applications with tight memory constraints.
  • Mobile Development
    Python is not a primary choice for mobile app development, where languages like Java, Swift, or Kotlin are more commonly used.
  • Runtime Errors
    Being a dynamically typed language, Python code can sometimes lead to runtime errors that would be caught at compile-time in statically typed languages.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies in Python projects can sometimes be complex and cumbersome, especially when dealing with conflicting versions of libraries.

Erlang features and specs

  • Concurrency
    Erlang is designed for massive concurrency and supports thousands of lightweight processes, making it ideal for applications requiring multiple parallel operations.
  • Fault Tolerance
    Erlang provides robust support for fault tolerance, with built-in mechanisms for process monitoring and error recovery, leading to high system availability.
  • Distributed Computing
    Erlang's architecture facilitates distributed computing with easy support for building scalable, distributed systems across multiple nodes.
  • Hot Code Swapping
    Erlang supports hot code swapping, enabling developers to update code on a live system without requiring a system restart, which is crucial for continuous operation.
  • Functional Programming
    Erlangโ€™s functional programming paradigm leads to simpler code with fewer side effects, improving maintainability.
  • Strong Community
    Erlang has a strong community, with a wealth of resources, libraries, and frameworks that support developers in building efficient systems.

Possible disadvantages of Erlang

  • Learning Curve
    Erlang has a steep learning curve, especially for developers who are not familiar with functional programming or its concurrency model.
  • Syntax
    The syntax of Erlang can be unfamiliar and challenging to new users, which may hinder the initial coding experience.
  • Limited Libraries
    Despite having a strong community, Erlang has fewer libraries and tools compared to more popular languages, which may limit development options for certain applications.
  • Performance Limitations
    While Erlang excels in concurrency, its performance for compute-intensive tasks might not match that of languages specifically optimized for such operations.
  • Niche Use Cases
    Erlang's strengths in certain niches like telecoms and real-time systems might not translate well to more general or varied software development tasks, limiting its adoption.

Python videos

Creator of Python Programming Language, Guido van Rossum | Oxford Union

Erlang videos

Book Review - Erlang in Anger

More videos:

  • Review - Erlang is getting pretty! - Michal Muskala | Code BEAM SF 20

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Python and Erlang)
Programming Language
86 86%
14% 14
OOP
82 82%
18% 18
Generic Programming Language
Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Python and Erlang

Python Reviews

Pine Script Alternatives: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Indicator Languages
Technical analysis in trading has come a long way, with various programming languages emerging to support traders in developing custom indicators. While Pine Script has been a popular choice for many, alternatives like Indie, ThinkScript, NinjaScript, MetaQuotes Language (MQL), and even general-purpose languages like Python and C++ are gaining traction. Letโ€™s explore these...
Source: medium.com
Top 5 Most Liked and Hated Programming Languages of 2022
No wonder Python is one of the easiest programming languages to work upon. This general-purpose programming language finds immense usage in the field of web development, machine learning applications, as well as cutting-edge technology in the software industry. The fact that Python is used by major tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. is good enough proof as to...
Top 10 Rust Alternatives
This programming langue is typed statically and operates on a complied system. It works based on several computing languages Python, Ada, and Modula.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Python is the most widely used programming language for data science and machine learning and one of the most popular languages overall. The Python open source project's website describes it as "an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics," as well as built-in data structures and dynamic typing and binding capabilities. The site...
The 10 Best Programming Languages to Learn Today
Python's variety of applications make it a powerful and versatile language for different use cases. Python-based web development frameworks like Django and Flask are gaining popularity fast. It's also equipped with quality machine learning and data analysis tools like Scikit-learn and Pandas.
Source: ict.gov.ge

Erlang Reviews

We have no reviews of Erlang yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python seems to be a lot more popular than Erlang. While we know about 299 links to Python, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Erlang. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Python mentions (299)

  • How to Build a Dependency Map of a Legacy Codebase Using AI Tools
    137Foundry provides legacy modernization services that include dependency mapping as a foundational assessment phase. Prettier and ESLint are useful companion tools for enforcing code style consistency as the refactoring proceeds. Node.js and Python.org official documentation are authoritative references for understanding the import and module systems of those runtimes. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • How to Prepare a Legacy Codebase for AI-Assisted Refactoring
    For Python codebases, tools like Python's built-in ast module and import analysis scripts can generate call graphs. For JavaScript, ESLint and module analysis tools serve a similar purpose. GitHub advanced search can help you find all internal references to a specific function across a large repository. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Async Web Scraping in Python: asyncio + aiohttp + httpx (Complete 2026 Guide)
    Import asyncio Import aiohttp From bs4 import BeautifulSoup Async def scrape_and_parse(url: str, session: aiohttp.ClientSession) -> dict: async with session.get(url) as response: html = await response.text() # BeautifulSoup parsing happens after the await โ€” no issue soup = BeautifulSoup(html, "html.parser") return { "url": url, "title": soup.title.string if soup.title... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Don't Be Afraid of Git: A Beginner's Guide to Saving and Sharing
    **_Beginner mistake to avoid_** - Writing SQL only inside DBeaver - Always save SQL files in VS Code and commit them **Using PostgreSQL with Python** _**What Python does here**_ Python talks to PostgreSQL and says: - โ€œSave this dataโ€ - โ€œGet this dataโ€ - PostgreSQL listens. Python works. _**Step 1: Install Python **_ - Download from https://python.org - During install, check Add Python to PATH Screenshot... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Asyncio: Interview Questions and Practice Problems
    Import time Import requests Import asyncio Import aiohttp Urls = [ 'https://example.com', 'https://httpbin.org/get', 'https://python.org' ] # Synchronous version Def sync_fetch(): for url in urls: response = requests.get(url) print(f"{url} fetched with {len(response.text)} characters") # Async version Async def async_fetch(): async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session: ... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
View more

Erlang mentions (3)

  • Standalone HTTP Server in Elixir with Bandit
    Writing Elixir code is not really exciting to me, but, to be honest, if someone today wants to create an application from scratch and is looking for a big pool developers and a battle tested distributed infrastructure (the BEAM VM), Elixir is probably one of the best choice nowadays. The community is active, the documentation is great, the language looks like a mix between Ruby and Python, without the annoying... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Perfect Elixir: Environment Setup
    Iโ€™m on MacOS and erlang.org, elixir-lang.org, and postgresql.org all suggest installation via Homebrew, which is a very popular package manager for MacOS. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • What is Calypso?
    However, as Elixir is inherently tied to the BEAM and Erlang/OTP, it means that it has features like immutable variables (though you can rebind them and have state via process loops, e.g. Agents or GenServers). This also means that OTP is the main "application framework" for Elixir/Erlang. In my opinion, OTP is a pretty good design philosophy for applications, but sometimes it's just kind of hard to set up or wrap... - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Python and Erlang, you can also consider the following products

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

Elixir - Dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible

Perl - Highly capable, feature-rich programming language with over 26 years of development

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language