Nowadays Java and C++ programming languages are vastly used in the programming world and newbies generally learn to code in these languages. Both Java, as well as C++, are object-oriented programming languages. Both of the languages are considered to be developer-friendly, efficient, and easy to learn. Owing to different situations, both the programming languages are efficient. We widely use Java to create general applications, web applications, and server-side programming. On the other hand, we use C++ in the gaming industry, embedded systems, UI development, etc. Though both of the programming languages can be used for other tasks as well. In this article, we will discuss Java vs C++ languages, their similarities and differences, and the comparison between both the languages.
What is Java?
Java was released publicly in 1995 by Sun Microsystems and was initially called ‘Oak’. It was initially developed to solve the issues with conventional programming languages such as C, COBOL, etc. However, as we know, Java became highly popular because of its uses in internet application development and server-side development. Since its release, it is considered to be a versatile language and is very widely used in software development and general programming. Java is fast, secure, and reliable therefore it is widely used for developing Java applications in data centers, game consoles, scientific supercomputers, cell phones, etc. Java has a variety of other uses as well such as we can use it as a back-end language in web development. Android application development also primarily uses Java to develop mobile applications. Java is a fully object-oriented language with automatic garbage collection. The java codes are not fully compiled and the use of the JVM interpreter makes it portable. However, Java is slower than C++.
What is C++?
C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Laboratory of AT & T. It aimed to solve the issues with C and included object-oriented features. C++ is a high-level programming language that is class-based and object-oriented. It is among the world’s most popular programming languages. C++ is often used in embedded systems because it gives programmers a high level of control over systems and resources. It is considered to be highly efficient, reliable, and flexible. As a result, it finds its applications in game development and UI development. It is not a fully object-oriented language. Moreover, it does not have automatic garbage collection therefore we need to manually free the resources when their use is over. C++ is a completely compiled language which makes it faster than Java.
Java vs C++
There are certain similarities as well as differences between both languages. We have listed some of them as follows.
- Java is platform-independent.
- Java does not support multiple class inheritance whereas C++ supports multiple inheritances.
- Java supports the call by value and there is no call by reference in Java whereas C++ supports the call by value as well as the call by reference.
- C++ has structures and unions apart from classes while there are only classes and interfaces in Java.
- Thread support is inbuilt in Java. While in C++ there is no built-in support for the threads. It relies on third-party libraries for the support of the threads.
- In C++, we have single-line and multi-line comments. Java supports documentation comments as well apart from single line and multi-line comments.
- Java has an unsigned right shift operator (>>>).
- C++ codes are only compiled. On the other hand, Java codes are compiled and interpreted.
- In C++, we should control the memory management manually. While in Java, memory management is controlled by JVM, also known as automatic garbage collection.
- Java has very limited support for pointers that are too included in later versions. Whereas C++ has strong support for pointers.
- Java has a single root hierarchy as it is purely object-oriented programming whereas C++ is procedural as well as object-oriented programming hence C++ does not have a specific root hierarchy.
- In C++, runtime error detection is the responsibility of the programmer which makes it more error-prone and we need to be careful while coding. While in Java, JVM does the job of runtime error detection by throwing exceptions.
- In java, we should keep all methods and data within the class. There is no global scope however there can be a package scope whereas C++ has a global scope as well as namespace scope. Thus data and functions can exist outside the class.
- Java libraries have a wide range of classes for various high-level services whereas C++ libraries are comparatively low-level functionalities.
- Java supports only the pass by value technique whereas C++ supports both pass by value and pass by reference.
- Java does not have a virtual keyword whereas C++ has a virtual keyword. However, Java does support method overriding.
Apart from all the differences that we have discussed so far, we have some similarities between Java and C++ that are given as follows.
- Compiler: Both Java, as well as C++, use a compiler. Although Java is partially compiled.
- Data Encapsulation is supported by both Java and C++. We can bind the data and methods together in a class.
- Polymorphism: Both languages allow method overloading.
- Data abstraction: Both languages support data abstraction, meaning that we can hide the internal details and can display only the required information to the user.
- Both languages support static and dynamic binding. Static or early binding is resolved at compile time, on the other hand, the dynamic or late binding is resolved at run time. Dynamic binding is specific to dynamic method dispatch or method overriding. While the static binding is linked to method overloading.
Suggested Reading: C Sharp and Sequel Programming Languages
Concluding the Discussion on Java vs C++
Programming languages are tools. The choice of programming language shall depend on a number of factors, including features, availability, maintainability, available expertise, performance, and a whole bunch of things.
We can not say directly that one language is better than the other because both languages are important in their respective needs. The choice of language solely depends on our requirements, capabilities, and functionalities of language. This is the reason that both Java and C++ are widely used in the software industry. For some tasks, C++ weighs better such as embedded systems, game development, etc while for some Java is better such as REST APIs, server-side applications, etc. Hope you enjoyed reading this article on Java vs C++. You can also learn python programming language from websites like pythonforbeginners.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.
