C++ and Java are among the most popular programming languages used for developing different computer applications, games, operating systems, etc.
In this article, I will discuss the differences between C++ and Java programming languages.
What is C++ programming language?
C++ is a general-purpose, mid-level, object-oriented programming language. It is considered an extension of the C programming language, sometimes it is called C with classes. This programming language was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in the 1980s.
C++ is used for developing complex high-performance applications. It is used in the development of some well-known applications like youtube, Windows OS, Mozilla Firefox, MySQL, etc.
Features of C++ programming
- Object-oriented programming language
- Mid-level programming language
- Machine independent
- Robust and secure language
- High performance
- Compiler based
- Dynamic memory allocation
- Supports multithreading using third-party libraries
What is Java programming?
Java is a general-purpose, object-oriented, class-based programming language that was first released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems. One of the biggest reasons behind the popularity of Java is its platform independence which means a program written in java can run on several different types of machines.
In fact, Java promises “write once, run anywhere”. Java applications are compiled to bytecode that can run on any JVM (Java Virtual Machine) regardless of the architecture of a computer system.
Features of Java programming
- Relatively easy to learn and code
- Object-oriented programming language
- Platform independent
- Robust and secure language
- Highly portable
- High performance (Using its Just in time compiler)
- Architecture neutral
- Dynamic and extensible
- Supports multithreading
C++ Vs Java: The key differences
The following table shows the key differences between C++ and Java programming languages –
| C++ | Java |
|---|---|
| Developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1980s at Bell Labs | Developed by James Gosling 1995 at Sun Microsystems |
| Initially version was released on May 23, 1995 | Initially version was released in October 1985 |
| Supports both procedural and object oriented programming | It has support for object oriented programming |
| It is platform dependent | Java is platform independent |
| Based on the concept "Write Once Compile Anywhere" | Based on the concept of "Write Once Run Anywhere" |
| It can only compiled but not interpreted | Java program can be compiled as well as interpreted |
| Memory management is manual | Automatic memory management |
| Operator overloading is supported | Java doesn't supports operator overloading |
| It strongly supports pointer | Restricted or have a very limited support to pointers |
| It supports both pass by value and pass by reference | It only supports pass by value technique |
| Multithreading is possible by using third party libraries | Built in support to multithreading |
| It supports both single and multiple inheritance | Supports single inheritance only |
| It supports direct system library calls so it is nearer to hardware | It doesn’t support direct native library calls so it is not so interactive with hardware |
| Mainly used for system programming | Mainly used for application programming |
Conclusion
We hope this article is useful to you and you understood the differences between C++ and Java programming languages.
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