What Makes Java Different from Other Languages in Different Fields

Ever wondered why Java still shows up in job listings across industries—even after 25+ years? What Makes Java Different from Other Languages?

Here’s are some facts:
👉 Over 3 billion devices still run on Java.
👉 It’s the #1 language used in enterprise backend systems globally.
👉 Even after Kotlin took over Android, 90%+ of legacy apps still run Java under the hood.

So what makes it that resilient?

That’s the exact question I had when I first dipped my toes into Java during university.

Coming from Python, Java felt unnecessarily verbose.
But as I explored further—web dev, enterprise apps, even backend systems—I realized:
💡 Java isn’t trying to be trendy. It’s built to last.

This blog is not about hyping Java.
It’s about understanding where and why Java is still the go-to language,
and where it genuinely falls short compared to Python, JS, or Go.

Let’s break it down—field by field.
So you can decide if Java’s strengths align with your goals—or if you’re better off elsewhere.

Why Compare Java With Other Languages in the First Place?

Because choosing the right language isn’t just about syntax—it’s about long-term fit in the real world.

According to Stack Overflow’s 2024 Developer Survey, over 65% of developers work in multi-language environments.

That means you’re not choosing Java in isolation—you’re choosing it over Python, Go, JavaScript, or Rust depending on your field.

Java has been around since 1995, and while newer languages are trendier, Java is still the #6 most-used language worldwide (source).

That alone forces the question: Why is it still alive—and thriving—in some fields?

When I first learned Java, it felt stiff. I missed Python’s elegance.

But once I started digging into backend development and enterprise tools like Spring Boot, I saw what Java was really made for—reliability at scale.

As James Gosling, the creator of Java, once said: “The goal was reliability, not cleverness.”

That shows. Java apps might not look fancy, but they rarely break in production.

You don’t use Java because it’s fun. You use it because banks, governments, and enterprise apps demand it.

According to Oracle, Java runs on 97% of enterprise desktops.

That’s not hype—that’s decades of trust baked in.

But here’s the catch: Java isn’t ideal everywhere.

For AI? Python dominates. For frontend? JavaScript. For scripting and automation? Bash or Python feels better.

Even JVM competitors like Kotlin are smoother in many cases.

So comparing Java to other languages helps you know where it shines—and where it lags.

Don’t follow hype. Follow fit. 🧠💡

Programming Language Popularity by Domain (2024)

Bar Chart or Stacked Bar Chart
Shows usage percentages of Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, C#, and others across major fields:

Domain	Java (%)	Python (%)	JavaScript (%)	Go (%)	C# (%)	Others (%)
Enterprise Backend	65	15	10	5	20	5
Mobile Development	55	10	20	5	10	5
Data Science	5	70	10	3	2	10
Web Frontend	1	5	85	1	2	6
Embedded Systems	15	5	5	50	10	15

Data Source: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024

Java’s Unique Position in Android Development

Kotlin Took Over, But Java Still Matters

Java isn’t dead in Android. Despite all the hype around Kotlin, Java still powers most Android apps under the hood.

In fact, according to AppBrain, Java is used in over 85% of top Android apps as of 2025.

Kotlin may be the modern darling, but Java’s ecosystem is still deeply rooted in the Android world.

When I built my first Android app, I used Java—not because I chose to, but because most beginner tutorials, SDKs, and Stack Overflow answers were still Java-first.

Kotlin looked fancy, but every time I got stuck, I found a Java-based solution.

That’s a huge deal for learners and companies maintaining legacy codebases.

According to JetBrains’ 2024 Developer Ecosystem report, 40% of Android devs still use Java daily, mostly because switching a large codebase to Kotlin isn’t worth the risk or cost.

Kotlin is cleaner, null-safe, and reduces boilerplate, but it’s not without tradeoffs.

It has a steeper learning curve and can get confusing when mixed with Java in hybrid codebases.

In my case, debugging hybrid Kotlin-Java projects felt like wrestling two languages at once.

Also, some third-party libraries still have better support in Java.

Performance-wise, there’s no significant difference.

Both run on the same ART (Android Runtime), and compile to bytecode.

But Java’s long-term presence gives it the edge in documentation, tooling, and debugging.

Android Studio’s Java support is rock-solid, and if you’re dealing with older APIs or internal company tools, Java often just works better.

Developers like Donn Felker, co-host of the Fragmented Podcast, once said: “Java is the bedrock of Android, and Kotlin is a beautiful house built on top of it.”

That’s exactly how it feels.

Java may not be sexy, but it’s reliable—and in software development, reliability always wins in the long run.

If you’re just getting into Android, don’t ignore Java thinking it’s outdated.

It’s still one of the most important languages to learn if you plan to work with legacy apps, enterprise Android systems, or just want to understand what’s really happening behind Kotlin’s sugar.

So yes, Kotlin leads the future, but Java still owns the present.

And in most companies, the present pays the bills. 💼

Enterprise Applications: Where Java Shines Brightest

Why Large Corporations Still Love Java

Java dominates enterprise software—and there’s a clear reason: stability, performance, and long-term support. It’s boring in the best way possible.

Companies like Goldman Sachs, LinkedIn, and Amazon use Java to handle millions of requests per second without blinking. According to JetBrains’ 2024 Developer Ecosystem Survey, Java is the 2nd most used primary language among backend developers, only behind JavaScript, but tops the chart for enterprise systems.

When I interned at a large fintech company, everything—from internal dashboards to backend microservices—was built in Java. Not because it was trendy, but because it just worked. No surprises. No last-minute errors in production.

And if something did go wrong, there was a paper trail in the logs, thanks to Java’s obsessive verbosity.

Compared to Python, which many love for speed in writing code, Java wins on runtime speed, scalability, and multi-threading.

Unlike Go, which is lightweight but still maturing in tooling, Java has a 25+ year-old ecosystem that makes solving problems feel like assembling Lego blocks.

Add to that JVM tuning, JMX monitoring, robust IDEs like IntelliJ, and frameworks like Spring Boot, and you’ve got a battle-tested platform no startup can ignore once it scales.

C# and .NET? Great tools. But they’re heavily Microsoft-dependent, whereas Java runs on any OS.

That makes Java the darling of cross-platform enterprise systems.

“The JVM is still the best virtual machine ever created,” says Venkat Subramaniam, Java Champion and author of Modern Java.

And honestly, after deploying a Spring Boot app with live reload, unit tests, and Docker containers in minutes, I agree.

It feels industrial-grade, yet developer-friendly.

But let’s not sugarcoat it. Java can be a pain to write.

Boilerplate is real, and although Lombok, Records, and newer syntax improvements help, it still feels bulky next to Python or even Kotlin.

That said, Java’s verbosity often becomes its strength in large teams.

You read the code a year later and still understand what’s happening—something you can’t always say for JS or Python.

And if you’re thinking about performance, TechEmpower’s 2024 benchmarks show Java frameworks like Vert.x and Netty consistently outpace Node.js and Django in raw throughput (source: TechEmpower benchmarks).

That’s why when the stakes are high—think banking, telecom, healthcare, or insurance—Java still rules.

Not because it’s cool.

But because it’s reliable, fast, and has decades of tooling baked in.

If I had to build a SaaS product that I expect to last 10+ years with millions of users, Java + Spring Boot would be in my shortlist—even if I complain while coding it. 🧱💼

Java in Desktop Applications: A Fading Use Case?

Java once ruled the desktop world. But now? It’s barely hanging on.

JavaFX and Swing vs Electron or Native

Let’s be honest: Java desktop development is dying. Tools like Swing and JavaFX feel ancient. They lack the modern UX and flexibility developers expect.

I tried building a simple note-taking app in JavaFX once—it worked, but looked like something from 2005. Compared to Electron (used by apps like VS Code or Slack), Java UIs just feel… clunky.

JavaFX tried to fix Swing’s outdated look, but even Oracle stopped bundling JavaFX with JDK after Java 11. That says a lot.

In contrast, Electron gives you HTML/CSS/JS with full Node.js power—more intuitive, more flexible. Yes, Electron apps eat RAM, but they feel modern. Java desktop apps? Not so much.

Now compare with C# and .NET MAUI—you get native performance, active development, cross-platform UI, and tight OS integration. Java doesn’t offer that out-of-the-box anymore.

No built-in IDE support like Visual Studio’s drag-and-drop GUI builder. In Java, it’s still mostly manual layout managers, which feels like punishment in 2025 😂.

According to the JetBrains 2024 Developer Ecosystem survey, only 1.56% of developers use Java for desktop UIs. Electron? Over 22%. Even Python’s Tkinter and PyQt are more beginner-friendly.

Yet—Java still has a niche. In internal enterprise tools where UI isn’t a priority, or in legacy systems where rewriting everything in React or .NET isn’t feasible.

A former client I worked with ran their entire accounting system on a Swing-based app from 2008. Still works. But every dev who touched it cursed its existence.

The biggest issue? Lack of evolution. JavaFX hasn’t kept up. No built-in support for adaptive layouts. Limited styling options.

And unless you’re a UI masochist, you’ll likely hate the experience.

As Joshua Bloch (author of Effective Java) once said: “API design is about making things easy for the programmer who uses it.” JavaFX missed that memo.

So—should you use Java for desktop apps?

🟥 Only if:

• You’re maintaining legacy code.
• You must use Java due to internal constraints.
• Performance matters more than aesthetics.

🟩 Otherwise, choose:

• Electron (if you know JS).
• .NET MAUI or WPF (for Windows-focused apps).
• Flutter (cross-platform, fast-growing).
• Even Python + PySide is more beginner-friendly.

Verdict: In the desktop app world, Java is outdated and hard to love. Still functional, still powerful, but very few reasons to start fresh with it today.

Java in Data Science and AI: Can It Compete?

Java was never built for data science—that’s the blunt truth. While Python and R dominate this field thanks to libraries like pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, and TensorFlow, Java has always lagged behind in ease, speed, and community support.

I remember trying to build a simple regression model using Java—felt like forcing a square peg into a round hole. No native pandas, no quick plotting, and setting up a JAR jungle just to train a model? Painful.

Comparing Java to Python and R

Python is practically tailor-made for AI. It’s concise, has endless libraries, and its syntax feels like pseudo-code.

Java, on the other hand, is verbose, less intuitive, and requires more boilerplate to do the same thing. Even Java experts agree—Martin Fowler once said, “Python lets you write code as fast as you think. Java often gets in the way.”

I felt this every time I switched between the two while building ML pipelines.

Java also lacks native support for exploratory analysis. In Python, one-liners with matplotlib or seaborn give you stunning plots. In Java? You’ll need to rely on awkward external libraries like JFreeChart or complex toolkits like Deeplearning4j—none as smooth as Python’s stack.

Where Java Still Gets Used in Data-Heavy Environments

But it’s not all doom. Java has its niche strongholds.

In high-frequency trading, telecom, and large-scale banking systems, Java’s raw speed and JVM optimization still win.

You don’t want a GC pause ruining a million-dollar transaction.

Also, big data tools like Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, and Apache Flink are written in Java or Scala (JVM-based), and many enterprise systems still process petabytes of data using Java under the hood.

According to a 2024 JetBrains survey, only 1.3% of data scientists prefer Java as their primary tool compared to 70% for Python — JetBrains Dev Ecosystem Report.

That number speaks volumes.

So, while Java is technically capable, it’s just not pleasant or efficient for rapid ML prototyping.

Even Java-based libraries like Weka or DL4J feel outdated and clunky.

I wouldn’t recommend Java unless you’re already in a JVM-heavy stack or integrating with an existing Java system.

💡 TL;DR: If you’re building AI models or running experiments, stick to Python or R.

If you’re optimizing massive, production-grade, performance-critical systems—Java still has value.

Performance, Portability, and Security: Java’s Technical Differentiators

When people search “what makes Java different from other languages in different fields,” they’re not just curious about syntax—they want to know how Java behaves under real pressure: speed, platform independence, and security.

Let’s unpack all three—straight to the point.

JVM and Cross-Platform Capabilities

Java is platform-independent. That’s not a slogan—it’s engineered into its DNA through the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

You write it once, the JVM runs it anywhere—Linux, Windows, Mac, cloud, edge, embedded systems—no retuning needed.

I once built a reporting system for a college admin backend that ran on both Ubuntu and Windows machines without touching a line of deployment config.

That would’ve been way messier in C++ or Go.

Languages like Python rely on interpreters, and Go needs cross-compilation, but Java’s JVM handles the platform differences under the hood, making deployment across devices way simpler.

That’s why big corporations choose Java when scaling across multiple OS layers. 🚀

But here’s the downside: JVM isn’t lightweight.

It takes time to start, it eats more memory than Go or Rust, and in low-latency systems (like HFT platforms), Java is often ditched for C++.

Still, for most business-grade systems, JVM overhead is a tradeoff for flexibility.

Garbage Collection and Memory Management

Java uses automatic garbage collection, unlike C++ where you manually manage memory.

This reduces memory leaks and segmentation faults (a huge win for junior devs), but sometimes GC can spike the CPU and create lags—especially in systems needing millisecond precision.

I’ve seen this firsthand in a game engine prototype I built in Java; GC pauses were unpredictable, and I eventually had to switch to Rust for that module.

But Java’s newer G1 and ZGC collectors are fixing that.

According to Oracle, ZGC handles heaps up to 16TB with pause times under 10ms.

That’s insane. 🧠

Built-in Security Features

This is where Java destroys many modern languages.

It has a built-in security manager, bytecode verification, access control via policy files, and sandboxing.

That’s why banking apps, payment gateways, and military-grade systems still trust Java.

According to Synopsys’ 2023 report, Java projects had 40% fewer critical vulnerabilities than Node.js-based systems.

Back when I worked on a mini HR tool for a startup, our client refused to use anything but Java for the backend, citing strict audit requirements and ISO compliance.

Try getting that confidence from a vanilla Node or Python stack.

But Java isn’t flawless.

Its permission model is clunky, and the security manager is now deprecated (since Java 17).

Also, as NIST’s National Vulnerability Database shows, Java libraries still face security issues—it just means Java gives you more control to lock things down, not that you’re invincible.

Bottom line?

If you care about cross-platform deployment, long-term maintainability, and enterprise-level security, Java still hits hard.

It’s not the sexiest or trendiest tool in your belt—but it’s the one you’ll thank yourself for choosing when things get serious. 💼

Developer Experience: Is Java Friendly Enough in 2025?

Verbosity and Boilerplate: A Deal Breaker?

Let’s be honest—Java is verbose.

You write ten lines for what Python or Go does in three.

And yes, that can feel exhausting, especially when you’re just starting out or working on small projects.

I remember building a REST API in Java with Spring Boot—it worked great, but I kept thinking, “Why is everything so wordy?” 😅

Compared to Python’s Flask, it felt like writing an essay.

This verbosity often kills Java’s appeal among startups or indie devs who just want to ship fast.

A 2024 developer survey by JetBrains confirmed this—62% of developers feel Java code takes too long to write, even if it’s reliable in production.

This isn’t just a nitpick.

In fast-paced environments, developer productivity matters.

That’s why teams often lean toward languages like JavaScript or Go for rapid prototyping.

Modern Java: How Features Like Records, Streams, and Lambdas Changed the Game

But here’s the plot twist—modern Java is a different beast.

With the release of features like Records (Java 14), Text Blocks, Pattern Matching, and improved Lambdas, Java is trimming the fat.

When I used record for the first time, I was stunned—“Wait, this is it? Just one line for a whole data class?”

It was a moment.

The language is evolving toward clarity and conciseness, and that’s a big deal.

The introduction of the Stream API also changed how we write logic.

Chaining methods like map, filter, and collect brings a functional feel that didn’t exist before Java 8.

Oracle’s Brian Goetz even stated, “We’re not just patching Java, we’re modernizing it without breaking its soul.”

That’s true, but let’s not sugarcoat it—Java still isn’t as lean or expressive as Kotlin or Python when it comes to syntax.

Still, the tooling is unmatched.

IntelliJ IDEA, Maven, Gradle, and a robust debugging ecosystem give Java a massive edge in complex builds.

I’ve tried debugging Node apps or managing JS dependencies—trust me, it’s chaos.

Java’s ecosystem is boring in the best way.

It just works.

So, is Java friendly?

Not to hobbyists or speed-hungry startups.

But for long-term, maintainable, large-scale software, it’s a developer’s ally—once you get past the learning curve.

TL;DR? Java’s getting better, slowly but surely.

But if you want speed, go Python.

If you want structure, stick with Java.

Conclusion – When (and When Not) to Choose Java

Java remains a powerhouse in software development for a reason.

It’s the go-to language when you need stability, scalability, and security—especially in enterprise applications and large backend systems.

My own experience working with enterprise clients showed me firsthand how Java’s ecosystem—with tools like Spring Boot and robust JVM performance—handles millions of users without breaking a sweat.

According to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, over 40% of professional developers still use Java regularly, proving its staying power despite newer, trendier languages.

That said, Java’s verbosity and boilerplate-heavy syntax can slow down productivity, especially for rapid prototyping or data science projects where Python shines.

If you want quick iteration, simpler syntax, or are building modern frontend apps, Java might feel like a burden.

Kotlin, Go, or JavaScript often win here due to better developer ergonomics and community-driven innovation.

In mobile development, Java is no longer the default but remains crucial for maintaining legacy Android apps.

Businesses with long-standing Java codebases often find rewriting impractical, which ironically helps Java stay relevant.

However, if you’re starting fresh, Kotlin is often the better choice.

Java’s “write once, run anywhere” promise, powered by the JVM, is still a major differentiator.

It lets you deploy on various platforms with minimal changes, unlike many compiled languages.

But this flexibility sometimes means slower startup times and higher memory use, making Java less ideal for lightweight or embedded applications.

So, when should you pick Java?

When your project demands enterprise-grade reliability, strong type safety, and cross-platform support—think banking systems, large-scale web services, or mission-critical apps.

When to skip?

If you prioritize speed of development, simplicity, or cutting-edge data science libraries, other languages might serve you better.

Remember what James Gosling, the father of Java, once said: “Java is designed to be portable, secure, and robust, not to be flashy or trendy.”

That’s a philosophy worth considering in today’s ever-changing tech landscape.

In my journey, understanding Java’s strengths and limitations helped me pick the right tool for the right job, saving countless hours of frustration.

Hopefully, this breakdown helps you make that choice with clarity.