Learn c++ or java ?

[orangeman12]

I have started a little java but I was wondering which language you think would be better to learn . I don't yet know what I want to do but I would like to go with the language that has a better future and more options in terms of want you can do with it.

[kimchi_sg]

I would like to go with the language that has a better future and more options in terms of want you can do with it.

C++

It has been around longer and compiles on more platforms than Java.

P.S. I program in Java too... for school needs.

[neuromancerzero]

i program in c++, but have started to learn java. I would recommend c++ for many reasons. I like it better personally and its been around longer.
edit: also more games are made using it so its useful for cracking software. also more platforms use it.

[MHL]

I think java has future, and c++ is fading out.
also, java is easier to program. platform independent.
nice reference api. and lots of free resource lik IDE.

[nbensa]

Both. Take a look at Python too.

[bitwise]

yeah, why do you think you should learn one over the other? Java is great for absolute beginners, where as C and C++ have a lot of odd things that can be confusing.

Java is just stupidly simple, and really teaches object oriented design. I recommend learning java first, then C++, then if you still desire, C and assembly. Also, there's nothing stopping you from learning Python and other languages while your at it.

[Jeremy_Z]

yeah, why do you think you should learn one over the other? Java is great for absolute beginners, where as C and C++ have a lot of odd things that can be confusing.

Java is just stupidly simple, and really teaches object oriented design. I recommend learning java first, then C++, then if you still desire, C and assembly. Also, there's nothing stopping you from learning Python and other languages while your at it.

Agreed. C++ requires a bit more of practice and "know what you do".

[dmitchell]

Another vote for C++.

[seank]

C++

[Highlands]

C++ here too, just because C++ is faster then java because it dont needs a runtime

[treat]

java is boring

[Dlareh]

Python would be an obvious first choice over C/++ and Java.

But if you need to choose between those two, the answer is clearly Java... no programmers should ever have to do their own memory management unless it is strictly needed or desireable for the task at hand.

[MHL]

time is money, program written in Java requires less time then written in C++.
so Java Rocks.

[Dlareh]

time is money, program written in Java requires less time then written in C++.
so Java Rocks.

Well as someone already mentioned, Java can be quite boring. Python requires even less time to write and is almost always fun to work with...

[tomvollerthun]

I admit that I disagree with most of the statements here: it's not that java or C++ or ruby are simpler or harder than one of the other programming languages!

If a programming task is difficult or not is almost completely independent of the language you chose to implement: Programming a task-scheduler is always difficult, be it in java, python, bash or ruby, whereas a "Hello world" is always simple and boring.

It's like writing: a book is much more than just it's letters - it has a meaning and so do programs.
A programming language's syntax is just the letters, which of course you must know before you can write a book, but the difficult thing is not the letters itself but to make the book/program mean what you intend.

A programming language's syntax can be learned in about a week of intensive work. Throwing together a not most basic program from available libraries takes maybe another three weeks, and that is the stage many programmers stay in for a very long time.

So if you want to learn, take four weeks to play around with C++, then four weeks of Java. Then you'll know which you like more and can start to learn why the language is insignificant to programming ;)

cu, tom

[minskpower]

It all depends on what you wish to accomplish by learning the language. If going for web development, than java (or python) are the choice. For desktop apps or programs that require intense math computation, C++ is better (although java benefits now from good GUI libraries).

[Dlareh]

The OP indicated he doesn't know what he is going to use the language for, so your points are not helpful.

He just wants to learn, and Python excells at "learnability" (among many other things irrelevant to this discussion).

[dmitchell]

the answer is clearly Java... no programmers should ever have to do their own memory management unless it is strictly needed or desireable for the task at hand.

Stop spreading FUD: C++ doesn't require manual memory management.

[reptile]

i would recommend c++ for learning, then use c# or java for programming - the transition is easy, no messing around with pointers, more straightforward development... if you want to do gui-programming. if you want to program hardware or anything closely related to hardware, then go with c++ or even c. just my 2©

[30726]

Once you've learnt a language like C++, learning other languages is a breeze.

[Mercury]

IMHO, it's not that easy to compare these two, since C++ is a true compiler, while Java is more of an interpreter (generates bytecode and not machine code). I haven't done much java programming, but my neighbour did a lot for college. From what I've seen, when it comes to complex mathematical algorithms, java doesn't stand a chanse compared to C++. Also, I doubt JVM has the ability to use processor specific features like MMX and SSE. I've done some assembly programming with these SIMD instructions and the preformance boost is incredible.

George

[IvanYosifov]

I have started a little java but I was wondering which language you think would be better to learn . I don't yet know what I want to do but I would like to go with the language that has a better future and more options in terms of want you can do with it.

I would start with Java. It is easier to learn, and will ( IMO! ) get you a job faster.
If you are really serious about becomming a programmer and understanding the code-world all around you, you will inevitably learn both along with pure C, at least.

In theory Java has the future and C++ is a thing of the past. In practice C and C++ will be in *very* heavy use at least for the next 15 years and Java is far from proven over direct competition like .NET and emergeing competition like Python.

[kustos]

It has been around longer

Then why not COBOL?

and compiles on more platforms than Java.

Yes, a small subset of C++

The biggest points in favor of Java over C++ I see are typesafety and array-range-checking. 50% of all secrurity holes are buffer overflows. This meas there is an immense amount of people out there using C/C++ without understanding it, changes are you won't understand it as well. Bufferoverflows are a big problem. Java programms can not be affected by them. How many C/C++ programms or libs do you know of that have never been affected by a buffer overlfow? If you think this is a minority the you probably don't read "Latest Site News", at the time of posting:

Python: Heap overflow in the included PCRE library
X.Org: Heap overflow in pixmap allocation

Such a thing would just not be possible with Java.

And there is of course my favorite quote about C++

If you think C++ is not overly complicated, just what is a protected abstract virtual base pure virtual private destructor and when was the last time you needed one?

C++ doesn't require manual memory management

Yeah, sure.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Java fanboy. I'd recommand Smalltalk, Python or even Ruby over Java. But if the choice is Java or C++, I go Java. But I'd actually say Java is proven. In the last 10 years it has cut so significately into the market share of C/C++ like no other programming language.

[Dlareh]

the answer is clearly Java... no programmers should ever have to do their own memory management unless it is strictly needed or desireable for the task at hand.

Stop spreading FUD: C++ doesn't require manual memory management.

It doesn't? When did this happen? Why do tools like IBM Rational Purify or the new OSS Valgrind exist?

Last I checked C++ did not have garbage collection nor anything similar that allows one to not worry about memory allocation at all. That's what I mean by "manual"...

[IvanYosifov]

I'd recommand Smalltalk, Python or even Ruby over Java.

Why would you recommend Smalltalk over Java !? Today Smalltalk stands in the exact same place COBOL does.

Last I checked C++ did not have garbage collection

Well, actually it does. There are libraries that do it ( google).
Of course, whether these collectors are mature enough or usable with any sort of framework that was not build with GC in mind is a different story. In theory, C++ has GC. In practice, no one but researchers is using it.