C++ vs Java

Differences Between C++ vs Java

A general-purpose programming language created as an extension of C language can be said as C language with classes called C++. The language offers high-level control for system and memory, and as a cross-platform language develops high-performance applications. Bjarne Stroustrup creates the language. A general-purpose programming language that is object-oriented and class-based designed to have implementation dependencies is called Java. This helps in designing the distributed environment available on the internet. Java is simple to use when compared with C++, as it is used to create entire applications in a single system.

Let us study much more about C++ and Java in detail:

C++ vs Java have different design goals. Like C++, Java is also a statistically typed object-oriented programming language similar to incompatible syntax.  Java has extensive documentation as well, which is known as Javadoc.

C++ uses pointers, while Java does not involve pointers. Java uses the concept of ‘restricted pointers’. A C++ program is run, and the compilation is done using its compiler. The compiler in C++ converts source code into machine level language, which makes C++ a platform-dependent language. In Java, java source code is first converted into bytecode at the time of compilation. The interpreter and runtime then interpret this bytecode to produce the output that makes Java a platform-independent language.

C++ does not provide built-in support for threads, whereas Java support threads implicitly. Though in the latest implementation of C++11, it does have support for threads as well. Java is much like C++ but does not involve complex concepts like structures, operator overloading, pointers, templates, unions, etc. Also, Java doesn’t have support for conditional compile (#ifdef/#ifdef type).

Every entity is an object in java except fundamental types. Java has a single root hierarchy as everything emerged from java.lang.Object.

Head to Head Comparison Between C++ and Java  (Infographics)

Below is the top 8 Comparisons Between C++ and Java:

Key Differences Between C++ and Java

Some of the points are explained below that shows the Differences Between C++ and Java:

• C++ uses only compiler whereas, in Java, compiler and interpreter both are used.
• C++ supports operator overloading and multiple inheritances, but Java does not.
• C++ is more related to hardware in contrast to Java.
• C++ does not provide built-in support for the internet, whereas Java has built-in support for the same. However, C++ supports socket programming that can be used to achieve the same.
• C++ uses the concept of header files to include different libraries in the program. Java uses import functionality to include different classes and their methods in the program.
• C++ provides support for default arguments, whereas Java does not.
• C++ has the concept of scope resolution operator(:: ), which is used to define a method external to the class, whereas Java uses a single dot( . ), which can be used to qualify classes with the namespace they came from.
• Java does not use a go-to statement like C++.
• Java does not have destructors; therefore, exception handling mechanism and garbage collection are different from C++.
• Java supports method overloading, whereas C++ supports method overloading as well as operator overloading.
• Java has the concept of pass-by-value.
• Java does not have the implementation of unsigned integers, whereas C++ has.
• C++ uses pointers and has the capability of manipulating memory addresses.
• Java does not use pointers that make it a type-safe programming language.
• Java uses Generics, whereas C++ uses templates.
• The JVM helps in efficient code optimization, so the performance of the execution of the program is better than as that of C++.
• C++ uses destructors that are automatically invoked at the time of object destruction.
• Java has an in-built Thread class that needs to be inherited for the creation of a new thread. A programmer has to override its run() method.
• C++ has no support for Threads like Java; C++ achieve the functionality of thread using external libraries.

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C++ and Java Comparison Table

Below is the list of points that describe the comparison between C++ and Java.

BASIS FOR COMPARISON	C++	Java
Memory Management	Managed by developers using pointers. Supports structures and union	Controlled by the system, does not use pointers. Supports Threads and Interfaces
Inheritance	Provide single and multiple inheritances both	Does not support multiple inheritances. Uses the concept of Interface to achieve
Runtime error detection mechanism	Programmer’s responsibility	System’s responsibility
Libraries	Comparatively available with low-level functionalities	Provide a wide range of classes for various high-level services
Program Handling	Methods and data can reside outside classes. The concept of a global file, namespace scopes available	All methods and data reside in the class itself. Concept od Package is used.
Type Semantics	Supports consistent support between primitive and object types	Different from primitive and object types
Portability	Platform dependent as source code must be recompiled for different platform.	It uses the concept of bytecode which is platform-independent and can be used with platform-specific JVM.
Polymorphism	Explicit for methods supports mixed hierarchies	Automatic uses static and dynamic binding

Conclusion

Both C++ vs Java programming languages support OOPS concepts. C++ provides flexibility at runtime and can implement broad type hierarchies. C++ is built upon C and has backward compatibility with its features. It’s a kind of low-level programming language with some high-level features added to it. Memory management in C++ is a manual process that needs to be handled by the programmer, which can introduce risks of memory leaks and segmentation faults. Java has a built-in garbage collector mechanism that keeps track of allocated memory to the objects and makes them automatically free when no longer in use. Java provides different primitives and objects types and is a strongly typed programming language. It provides a way to transform primitives to their corresponding object types, such as an integer object using an Integer class object, etc.  Few java versions also have the feature of autoboxing that enables automatic conversion of primitives to their corresponding wrapper class. Java provides automatic Polymorphism and can restrict it by prohibiting explicit method overriding. Both C++ and Java have access specifiers that restrict the scope of attributes and methods within the class using private, within the package using protected and outside the class and package using public.

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