When you think
about backend development, Python and Node.js are the first things that come to
your mind. While Python is a programming language, Node.js is an environment
allowing JavaScript code to run on the server side and not in a browser.
It is based on
Chrome’s V8 Engine, which runs on Google Chrome. Node was a sort of a quantum
leap, as it is the first environment allowing to use JavaScript both on the
client side and on the server side. Without Node.js, frontend and backend used
different languages, which could cause certain compatibility issues. So,
Node.js vs Python comparison actually boils down to comparing Python and
JavaScript on the backend.
This is going to
be a clash of titans, as both have been around for quite some time, both have
earned solid reputations in the developers’ community, both have thousands of
devoted supporters. We can even speak of a Python or JavaScript culture and
folklore – there is even the Zen of Python and the JavaScript Garden. Python
philosophy is that “There should be one – and preferably only one – obvious way
to do it”, while JavaScript proudly boasts that “Any application that can be
written in JavaScript will eventually be written in JavaScript” (the so-called
Atwood’s Law).