java vs c++

[Mucman]

My university is going to start teaching its computer science program in Java instead of C++. Is Java that powerful of a program or is C++ just that much hyped? I always though you have to learn C++ or else you won't get a job in the programmin business. Just wanted to hear what you professionals feel about this.

thanks

 

[LAUST]

That is kind of strange to me I'm a sys admin and not a programmer but I always thought JAVA was based on C++ also, And I know C++ is still more heavily used. I'm not too big of a fan of allot of JAVA apps myself as I manage X86 boxes and not Sun systems which JAVA seems to really scream on .. my X86's on the otherhand well *Cough*

 

[Phalkon]

Java is a derivate language based on C++.... Java being 100% portable (Microshaft would disagree ) it offers platform-independent compilation and whatnot.
If you learn Java, its only a small hop skip and jump over to C++. You'll notice that the ideas and code is nearly exact. Java will get you a job just as easy as C++ will... if you have Java, C++, VB and some Database skillz, you're set to make lots of cash.

What Java isn't good at is things like direct hardware access, etc... things that make programs go really fast. Also, it can be a tad sluggish at times if it is being interpreted directly from code.

If you want to go into stuff like game programming, or high-speed multimedia applications, I think C++ is the way to go, but if you want to do stuff on any platform and have it work the same (thereby increasing your marketable self potential) I'd say go with Java, as your skills there are portable to C++ as well.

 

[Mucman]

The prof was mentioning C++ being a tad faster, but he said since computers are getting so much faster, the speed difference between Java and C++ is becoming negligible. He also stated that you will need a reading knowledge of C++ to get through the course.

 

[hans007]

java is a lot safer, and more secure. Also it is an interpreted language and C++ isn't, though java can be compiled to native code for more speed. The reason that java is slower even in compiled native binaries is that the java compilers are pretty slow still since it hasn't been around for as long i guess. i've personally programmed c++ for a couple years and now i'm trying to learn java, and its really cool i think. Java really isnt based on c++ so much, syntax is just very similar. Also java is different since its all Object oriented with those methods and everything is in a class, in C++ you dont have to program OO if you dont want. Now that i'm learning it i think its better than c++, but you really should learn both since they are both in demand,

 

Java is easier to learn than C++. C++ is currently used a lot more than Java in the PC world (the past) but that is starting to matter less and less. Java is being used on the Internet side of things, as well as on portable, mobile and wireless devices (the future). So if all goes as planned, having Java skills will be quite important. C++ will never die, but IMHO it's just an ugly monster that should not be messed with unless you are doing high performance system type stuff.

 

[NFS4]

Java is MUCH easier to learn than C++...I'm taking it now.

 

[Mucman]

Cool, sounds like this switch to Java is a good move. Can anyone through some names of some good Java compilers? I don't know anything about em...

thanks

 

If your talking about IDEs, Visual Cafe is pretty good but it crashes too much. There is a shareware IDE called Kawa which is I find really good. The JDK itself comes with a command line compiler but it's slow. If you want a nice, fast, free command line compiler I suggest IBM's Jikes.

 

[yata]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Java is used mainly for the web and C++ more for industrial apps?

Java's just started. C and C++ have been around and are most widely used.

 

[slipperyslope]

I don't know where you heard your info BUT the implementation of JAVA is NOTHING LIKE C++. The only thing that is similiar is the syntax. Java and C++ look similiar. Java was derived mostly from a language called smalltalk. Trust me, I had to go into deep detail on the implementations of both languages for my programming language implementations class.

Java is a great language and I think it has a great future. I do however think that C++ is VERY important. As one of my teachers said, "I have been programming C++ in the industry for 10 years now and I think that I have a good knowledge of the language. I think I know about 15% of C++ as a language." C++ is a huge language that allows millions of different ways to implement the exact same simple concept. I have taken two years of C++ and I think I am a pretty good C++ programmer but nothing like what my professor could do. His code just amazed me.

Learn Java. Then learn C++. Once you understand object oriented programming then C++ will come alot easier.

 

[hans007]

try jbuilder also, borland gives it away for free and its pretty good. Java can be used for anything, you just hear about it a lot for web stuff. You can write anything in java (i.e. corel office suite) like games, OSes etc. I think the reason they dont have a lot of things in java is that a lot of people use c++ since there are lots of libraries already available to use functions from. i.e. mfc,

 

[lowtech1]

C++ is a widely use, but MS products tend to be insecure.

Java non-MS product, not as popular, but more secure because every thing works in a sandbox.

 

[DataFly]

C++ is not an MS product, but is an open standard instead. If it were, MS would ensure that C++ programs wouldn't compile on any non-Windows system. It would also really, really suck.

 

They do in a way. They offer class libraries (MFC) that will compile under Windows only (some third-parties have ported it). The good thing is that being MFC sucks so bad that they are doing everyone else a favor