Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

R Lang VS Python

Compare R Lang VS Python and see what are their differences

R Lang logo R Lang

R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics.

Python logo Python

Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.
  • R Lang Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-10-24
  • Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

R Lang features and specs

  • Comprehensive Statistical Analysis
    R is specifically designed for statistical analysis and data visualization. It offers a wide array of statistical tests, models, and other quantitative techniques.
  • Extensive Package Ecosystem
    The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) hosts thousands of packages, making it easy to extend the language’s capabilities with specialized tools and libraries.
  • Data Visualization
    R excels at producing high-quality plots and charts through packages like ggplot2 and lattice, providing powerful tools for data visualization.
  • Strong Community Support
    R has a large and active user community that contributes to forums, documentation, and packages, facilitating easier troubleshooting and knowledge sharing.
  • Open Source
    R is open-source, meaning it is free to use and has a high level of transparency. Users can inspect, modify, and enhance the source code.

Possible disadvantages of R Lang

  • Memory Consumption
    R can consume a significant amount of memory, particularly with large datasets, which can lead to performance issues.
  • Learning Curve
    R has a steep learning curve for beginners, especially for those without a strong background in statistics or programming.
  • Speed
    R is interpreted and can be slower than compiled languages like C++ or Java, especially for computationally-intensive tasks.
  • Less Optimal for General-Purpose Programming
    Although R excels at statistical computing, it is less suited for general-purpose programming tasks compared to languages like Python or Java.
  • Inconsistent Function Names and Syntax
    Because R's packages are often developed independently, there can be inconsistencies in function names and syntax, making it harder for users to seamlessly work across different packages.

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.

R Lang videos

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Python videos

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to R Lang and Python)
Technical Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Language
6 6%
94% 94
Business & Commerce
100 100%
0% 0
OOP
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 R Lang and Python

R Lang Reviews

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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. Let’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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python seems to be a lot more popular than R Lang. While we know about 288 links to Python, we've tracked only 5 mentions of R Lang. 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.

R Lang mentions (5)

  • How to generate a great website and reference manual for your R package
    Generating a website for your R package is always a great idea. If the package is based on some paper, it will help it get noticed and eventually used. And once you have a website, it's just as well to include a reference manual for the package in it, that complements or is a bit more updated than the one published in CRAN. Or simply in another format. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • R
    This package is definitely related to R language) (see package URL, it points to r-project.org subdomain). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Rr
    Common misconception. Actually it's a Fibonacci sequence, so the next one is https://rrrrr-project.org. This does also mean that there's https://-project.org, and that https://r-project.org secretly disambiguates into two different projects. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Rr
    We already have https://r-project.org. Now we have https://rr-project.org. So, https://rrr-project.org is next? - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • r-project.org is down?
    Thank you, but unfortunately, the archive I'm talking about is the archive of old package versions, which seems to only be available through r-project.org. Source: almost 3 years ago

Python mentions (288)

  • A Beginner's Guide to Auto-Instrumenting a Flask App with OpenTelemetry and SigNoz
    If Python is not installed, download it from python.org or use your system's package manager (e.g., sudo apt install python3 on Ubuntu). - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
  • Scraping Infinite Scroll Pages with a 'Load More' Button: A Step-by-Step Guide
    Python Installed: Download and install the latest Python version from python.org, including pip during setup. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Get Started with Python
    First, you'll need to install Python if you don't have it already. Go to the official Python website python.org, download the latest version, and follow the instructions. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Unlocking DuckDB from Anywhere - A Guide to Remote Access with Apache Arrow and Flight RPC (gRPC)
    Python: We’ll use Python for it’s simplicity and accessibility. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Python Packaging is Great Now: `uv` is all you need
    Bootstrapping was an often neglected problem. Should we tell people to install Python from https://python.org? The Anaconda distribution? How do we stop folks from using their system package manager and risk breaking everything? - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

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

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

Go Programming Language - Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert...

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

D (Programming Language) - D is a language with C-like syntax and static typing.

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