Could Python supplant Java?

[Nicola Musatti]

Tom Davies wrote:
[...]
> >     2) Java has strongly typed variables that are declared before use,
> > Python has run-time typing and variables are defined as needed.  Each
> > system has its advantages and disadvantages.
> 
> That would kill Python for me. I like compile time type-checking.

But this is an aspect in which Java is decidedly half-baked: it lacks a
serious runtime polymorphism mechanism, so it forces you to perform a
lot of unnecessary runtime type checks and other forms of dynamic type
handling; on the other hand its stress on static typing makes dynamic
type based coding extremely clumsy.

A combination of Python and C++ would get you the best of both worlds,
and let you choose what to use when.

Cheers,
Nicola Musatti