Is python a slow language?

[coarse sluice]

Heard many ppl say python is slow but you can write code in like 5 lines what it would take C++ more lines

[prime swift]

<@&987246964494204979> please have a look, thanks.

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TJ-Bot

Heard many ppl say python is slow but you can write code in like 5 lines what it would take C++ more lines

Python is often considered slower than languages like C++ primarily because it is an interpreted, dynamically-typed language, whereas C++ is compiled to machine code. This means Python introduces overhead during runtime, affecting execution speed. However, Python’s expressiveness and concise syntax allow developers to write functionality in fewer lines, leading to faster development and easier maintenance.

In practice, Python’s speed is "slow" for compute-intensive tasks or scenarios needing low-level hardware interaction. But for many applications—especially scripting, web development, rapid prototyping, and data analysis—it offers an excellent trade-off between speed of writing code and runtime performance. Also, Python can interface with faster languages (C/C++ extensions, libraries like NumPy), mitigating raw performance concerns.

So, while Python is technically slower, it is not inherently "bad" — it excels where developer productivity matters more than raw speed. If performance is critical, you can optimize bottlenecks selectively.

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Useful links:

• Python vs C++ Speed: When to Use Which? – Real Python
• Why is Python slower than C? – Stack Overflow
• Understanding Python’s Performance – Python Software Foundation

- AI generated response using gpt-4.1-mini model

[dusk isle]

Python is usually slower than many other languages. This is due to it being interpreted with minimal JIT. However, in most cases where it's used, this doesn't matter, because anything that actually has to be fast is implemented in C (or something else fast) with Python just managing what happens.

[coarse sluice]

I see

Thanks

[glass sable]

That definition kinda gives it a lot of credit

It is slow to execute because of a lot of choices it made, and its not used in places where just doing "the fast parts" in C is applicable

so yes its "fast enough where it is used" because if it didn't matter it wouldn't be used there, generally