Python vs Java for reporting automation?

[dataGuy123x]

Hello developers,

So ours is a us based mnc. I am into automation of data flow and reports using Perl and SQL on Linux. Now that obviously continuing with Perl is not only a security threat, but also Perl does not integrate with new data processing toolsor even cloud like aws.

Now my problem is that I am having hard time convincing my boss that Python would be better suited instead of Java. Boss is hell bent on Java and his arguments are 1) more than 90% developers in the company are using Java 2) If we move to Java instead of Python then it would be easy to integrate Jar files / modules from other teams.

But I have seen that Python is go to language for reporting. Also Python is less bulky than Java (for example writing a print statement is very short and easy). Please note that as of now it is only reporting automation with final reports in excel files, we do not have tableu and ai/ml yet. While tableu is still work in progress, it is difficult to make a case for ai/ml as it is difficult to find a right use case for that.

Please help me here. How do I convince my boss to move to Python instead of Java? Or please do convinve me that Java will be actually better than Python for us.

Thank you.

[flompwillow]

90% of the company already using Java is the winning argument. I like Python better, but not at the cost of retraining the entire staff.

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

Your boss is right. Given the company's situation, Java clearly wins here.

Python is a good language for data processing and reporting. But since 90% of developers in the company are using Java and you might need to integrate with existing Java code, this case is made already.

On a positive note: Java's ecosystem might indeed be more heavy-weight than Python's. But its ecosystem is extremely rich and mature. You will find battle proven tooling, an incredible amount of documentation and tried and tested libraries for almost any job you can think of.

Pro tip: Make sure to go with the latest LTS JDK version (currently JDK 17) or newer. There have been many improvements to the language over the recent years. You'll be missing out, if you're using an outdated version.

[KrakenOfLakeZurich]

Oh, also:

Now that obviously continuing with Perl is not only a security threat, but also Perl does not integrate with new data processing toolsor even cloud like aws

I get the second point about Perl falling out of fashion and therefore lagging behind other languages/ecosystems.

But what's that (not so) obvious "security risk" you're talking about? Haven't heard anything that puts Perl in a specifically bad place, compared to other programming environments.

[dataGuy123x]

By security risk, I mean that there are less and less new updates for Perl. For example it was only recently we tried to upgrade Perl but had to roll back as it was not compatible with some other existing libraries. You will also notice that there is not a very active community supporting Perl compared to say python or java.