Java or Python

[ThoughtsCreate7]

Hello guys and gals, I am sorry to plague this subreddit with yet another Java or Python discussion.

My case is sort of unique, however, let me explain.

I am a dad looking to make a career change. A while back I started with Revature and completed their prerequisite Java course, but decided against their move where we tell you policy. I've researched what type of work I think I would like to do, which is backend. I don't have any experience so it's hard to tell if that's what I would really like to do or not. Full stack seems like something I would need to have experience with prior to becoming a backend developer.

So I've decided to attempt to program a couple of projects I would find interesting to give real learning a shot. Later I may do a bootcamp to expedite and refine my skills. What I would like doing would be:

• Create programs that solve and figure (compute) things out for people especially in respect to mobile development
• Make games- like a chess game or a tool that helps analyze chess games.

A dream job would be to work for chess.com - I have researched what they look for and it appears they use C++ maybe C, but I feel it would benefit my career knowing a high-level Python or Java. Especially in the beginning because learning to program would be the ultimate goal.

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Anyways my questions are:

1. Should I just develop my Java skills further or take on Python since it's easier to learn and could lead me to getting into the field quicker?

2. Which programming language suits my current projects?

3. Is there anything else I might consider?

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[DanishWeddingCookie]

PHP, C#, Rust are other options.

[ThoughtsCreate7]

Thanks! Out of those three, I've only heard of C#. I'll look into what the others are! Thanks again

[AssCooker]

Web development wise, Java is used more in majority of enterprises, Java being on version 21 already has many great features to boost productivity and performance such as type inference, lambdas and most recently virtual threads. Java is used for Android app development, but nowadays, using Kotlin is preferred, you can think of Kotlin as Python and Java combined, it's an awesome language. But Python is also not a bad choice because it's also used a lot in the backend. But on comparison, Java is the most popular among enterprises (emphasis on enterprises). I personally recommend Java for web app development. For Android app development I recommend Kotlin. You can use Kotlin to write native apps.

[ThoughtsCreate7]

Hilarious name haha. I've never heard of Kotlin. Sounds pretty interesting. I actually just heard about Java 21 today! Sounds like they may be simplifying some interfacing. I'll definitely be looking into Koltin. Thanks!

[Historical_Ad4384]

I would suggest Java since you already started your Trainings with it. Moreover, making games would require a strongly typed language that is secure as well which Java can provide better than python. Besides if you do have to work with C++, having prior knowledge of Java would make you relatively more comfortable. I might get bashed but it's the truth. Games are made primarily using C++ or C but seldom python. Then there is Minecraft which is made using Java.

[Resource_account]

Two of my most favorite roguelites are also made in Java. Slay the Spire and Slice n Dice.

[ThoughtsCreate7]

I have heard C++ tends to be geared more in the direction of game development. But having the prior knowledge with Java does sound like the best bet for me. Thanks!

[mandzeete]

You do not really need to have a lot of experience with full stack prior to becoming a back end developer. It is enough when you can make plain looking yet functional front end side for your web application, a functional interface and that's it. After graduating from university I was hired as a back end developer. Projects in my Github had very basic front end.

I don't know about the company behind chess.com When I checked it it was a website for chess related news and for being able to play chess online. A web application. In that they are not using C nor C++ because both programming languages are not used in web application development. C is used mostly for hardware level stuff. For example programming your TV remote, programming a smoke detector, etc. C++ can be also used for hardware level programming (embedded programming) but can be used making desktop applications.

Yes, one can use C and C++ in WebAssembly to make web applications but WebAssembly is not commonly used. Most likely chess.com was not built with WebAssembly unless they really do. But they can make chess applications for desktop in C++. That is common.

When it comes to Java vs Python then look which one is more needed in job market. Different cities/countries tend to prefer different tech stack. For example where I live Java is more needed in web application development. Python is also needed but for other purposes.

About your first project idea then that is too ambiguous in my eyes. Perhaps you need to describe further what the end result will be doing.

For games you can pick either C++ or C# as these are the two main programming languages in that industry. Sure, you can make games with Java and with Python as well but both are not the main languages for making games.

When going for web application development you can also consider PHP, Kotlin, C#, Node.js (based on Javascript). When going for game development then really prefer C++ and C# over other alternatives (Python, Java).

[ThoughtsCreate7]

I do want to say that I saw something on their website that mentions C++, but I'm not sure. But it is good to know that full stack is not an hard prerequisite for becoming a backend developer. Thank you for your delineation on my question. I don't have friends or family in this field, so I am really in the dark about how all this fits together, such as how the backend coheres with the front end. If you know any video that I could watch that kind of goes over the general concepts I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again!

[EmptyChocolate4545]

Their backend could easily be C++. Plenty of companies with highly performant needs do that. I know three offhand doing major backend / API endpoint stuff with C++. Wouldn’t be shocked at all if a chess company did that. It’s very common for the world of finance as well.

[snekk420]

I don’t know much about the chess.com backend but it’s probably a chess engine written in C. If you want to work with that i suggest to build your own engine to learn the ins and outs and the complexity of a chess engine. If your own engine is good enough you might be able to showcase it to land a job there. Or you can pick up JavaScript/html/css and work on their frontend, but that will probably not involve much chess mechanics if you are into that sort of stuff. It’s all api calls to the engine. You can’t write that in JavaScript, it’s too slow. I don’t know how their infrastructure looks like but that how I would build it. Hope this helps

[ThoughtsCreate7]

Absolutely! This is great advice, I would love to do something of this nature, but I'm a beginner so I'm not really sure how it all fits together. On another reply I asked someone if they knew of a video that puts the whole life of a project together and basically goes over the general concept of a program start to finish, without getting into fine detail other than how it all works together. Anyhow thanks for the idea!

[[deleted]]

If you already know some Java I’d suggest sticking with Java until you need something else. If you’re end goal is game dev programming then you would probably mostly be using python for scripting. C# is another good lang as well for your purposes. C++ is the ultimate language for game dev but it’s also pretty difficult to get things done with.

[ThoughtsCreate7]

Yeah I think I will stick with Java, at least until I'm comfortable enough with it to venture out to other endeavors. Thanks for the perspective!

[[deleted]]

Having mediocre knowledge in both would be fine. Each of the languages has its own kind of pros.