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A revolver is (usually) dead nuts reliable,less moving parts means less to go wrong.The downside is capacity and ease of concealment.Most revolvers are 6 shot(less if they are larger caliber defense guns) and are harder to reload quickly.The width also makes them a bit harder to to conceal comfortably.

An auto loader has a larger capacity potential and is slimmer and easier to conceal.

The drawback is reliability,I've never had a failure to feed or eject with a revolver.Most are very reliable after a break in period.

I believe a DA-SA revolver is better for home defense because it is much simpler to use in an emergency. If for some reason it misfires, all you have to do is pull the trigger again. This requires only one hand, while a misfired pistol requires two hands to cycle the slide to refire. I don't consider one type " better " than the other. I would also say in a household with inexperienced shooters the simpler to use revolver would be a plus. Don't get me wrong about pistols ( I have a few ) I just feel more comfortable with a revolver for my " quick grab gun "! Now for all around use, I like either type equally well. As for a SA revolver, This requires two functions to fire. This is why I wouldn't use it for home defense either. The small pistols now offered are better for concealed carry, IMO. They are lighter and have more rounds capacity than their revolver counterpart. Here, it's a matter of more may be better! :)

I have both, but I keep a revolver in my nightstand in part because one pull of the DA trigger chambers and fires a round without having to keep one 'in the tube'. If I had to take a shot with $100 on the line, I'd use my .357.

With an auto loading pistol you can throw a lot more lead around quickly. The slimmer profile makes for easier carry and it's also far easier to reload. If I had to clear a space of bad guys, I'd use my my 1911.

BTW, I don't consider revolvers to be for 'beginners'. The police carried them for decades... 6 well placed shots beats 13 lousy ones any day. So, ultimately it's a matter of personal preference.

revolver

pros:

super reliable and usually accurate due to the fixed barrel.

comfortable and egonomic.

cons:

cylinder can time out.

small parts can break (as with any firearm)

low ammo capacity.

low reload speed.

awkward size/shape magazines (if you use moon clips)

low rate of fire. (you can use double action but its still somewhat low due to the high wieght trigger.)

theres allways a round in the "chamber"(the cylinder that is but theres alway a primer ,live or fired, in front of the firing pin) (unless you use the john wayne load but thats unnessesary for most modern revolvers)

semi automatic pistol

pros:

most of the time accurate

higher capacity magazine. uses a magazine so you can have fast simple reloading.

magazines are flat, easy, and comfortable to carry.

holsters are alot more common.

ammunition is a lot more common

aftermarket parts are a lot more common

higher rate of fire.

round not always in the chamber. (unless you carry condition one or lower.)

ergonomic/comfortable

ammo cheap and abundant

cons

depending on what pistol they can be not as reliable.

not as accurate

not as comfortable im some cases. also a matter of preference

more comlicated to clean/maintain (but still not hard at all)

its up to you which pistol to get but i would recommend going with a nice 1911 you usually cant go wrong there.

Glock Doc: I find it funny that you're so fast to bash a revolver, but for some reason you'll harp on about the wonders of Glock...

I've seen Glocks blow up, I've seen them MALFUNCTION under normal circumstances a-many times. While they are good guns, I'm still not totally sold on PLASTIC.

Likewise, I feel your revolver experience is limited to Taurus, Rossi, and Rohm... not exactly fair to slam each and every revolver make for being problematic.

Never once have I had a problem with any of my revolvers... even the cheap-o Pietta percussion clones.

What do better than 95% of all police officers, and 100% of all (applicable) military personnel carry? The only valid uses for a revolver, today, are as: hunting utensils, secondary backup pistols, and extraordinarily user-friendly (safe) handguns for people who are interested in self-defense, but only modestly experienced as gun-handlers.

NOTE: I see another great internet gun myth looming on the horizon! Revolvers certainly do jam and freeze up; it's just that they don't do it quite as often as semiautomatics. Over the years I've had several revolvers suddenly stop running on me: high primers, cylinders that are out-of-time, forcing cone problems, broken lockwork parts, and bullet point configuration, loose crimps, or inconsistent seating depths have all been factors.

Anyone who says he's never had a revolver suddenly choke on him needs to get out and shoot more (revolvers). ;)