The new Minecraft snapshot made a huge change on how combat works. First, there is a charge time between attacks now. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I think it's a far better system. For some reason though, the attack meter isn't displayed default, so you have to turn it on in options. Second, now all of the tools are combat viable, some being slower but stronger, while other are faster but do less damage. In addition swords and axes have a special bonus effect, swords have a wider sweep attack that pushes back mobs in front of you, and axes have the ability to break shields when fully charged, which is cool for PVP. This is nice because I'm always a fan of there being different play-styles for people to pick from. None of this is final or balanced yet, but it's a good start.
Also, I made a spreadsheet of all of the weapon stats. (I'll try to keep it updated.)
Edit: The new snapshot nerfed all of the tools in terms of overall DPS, the hoe taking the biggest hit. I guess it makes sense for only axes and swords to be effective in combat, but it's so much less fun. This isn't the final snapshot though, so things are bound to change again.