C++ vs Java – Detail Comparison

by FC Team · Published April 11, 2022 · Updated July 17, 2023

C++ and Java programming languages are used extensively used in the coding world. Their incredible features let them stay dominant even after the arrival of other new languages like Python. C++ plays a prominent role among coders whose project is where speed and memory utilization are highly concerned. On the other side, Java dominates the IT industry due to its effectiveness in software development. This article will help you in exploring the similarities and the major differences between C++ vs Java.

What is C++?

Let us start with the basic question, “What is C++?”. This programming language is derived from C and share many properties and features with it. With the arrival of C++, concepts like classes and objects came into existence. C++ also allows us to encapsulate confidential data.

What is Java?

Java gives programmers to create software products with high-level security. Java programming codes are easily portable. Its extended library functionalities offer many features, especially abstraction.

Similarities between C++ and Java:

Before leaping into noting the differences, let us first know the similarities between these two programming languages.

The similarities in execution:

We compile the program code before running in C++ and Java as well. To explain further, Java source code, which is the .java file, takes a new form .class file. This .class file consists of the bytecode for the same program. During runtime, the JVM loads the .class file and converts it into machine code using an interpreter. Once the method calls have complied, the JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler runs the optimized code. This makes Java a compiled and interpreted language at the same time.

On the other hand, C++ involves only a complier to complete the task. This compiler converts the source code into machine code. This makes C++ faster than Java.

You can clearly understand this process by looking at the illustrations given below:

Features:

Most of the features that C++ possesses are included in Java too. Yet, there are a few exceptions. Here is a simple table that easily classifies the features present in C++ and Java:

Sl.No	Features	C++	Java
1	Abstraction	Yes	Yes
2	API	No	Yes
3	Dynamic Binding	Yes	Yes
4	Encapsulation	Yes	Yes
5	Global Variables	Yes	No
6	Header Files	Yes	No
7	Interfaces and Packages	No	Yes
8	Multiple Inheritance	Yes	No
9	Operator Overloading	Yes	No
10	Pointers	Yes	No
11	Polymorphism	Yes	No
12	Single Inheritance	Yes	Yes
13	Static Binding	Yes	Yes
14	Template Class	Yes	No

Sample programs in C++ and Java:

Let us now take a look at a simple program to print a statement in C++ and in Java.

C++:

#include<iostream.h>
using namespace std;
int main(){
cout << “Learn C++ with FirstCode”;
return 0;
}

Output for the sample program to print a statement in C++:

Learn C++ with FirstCode

Java:

class FirstCode{
public static void main(String args[]){
System.out.println(“Learn Java with FirstCode”);
}
}

Output for the sample program to print a statement in Java:

Learn Java with FirstCode

Differences between C++ and Java:

It is obvious that both programming languages are unique in their own way. The below table will help you differentiate this uniqueness between C++ vs Java.

Parameters	C++	Java
Founders	Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs	James Gosling at Sun Microsystems
First Release	October 1985	May 23, 1995
Stable Release	December 2017	March 17, 2020 (Java SE 14)
Official Website	isocpp.org	oracle.com/java
Influenced By	Ada, ALGOL 68, ML, Stimula, C, Smalltalk programming languages.	Ada 83, Pascal, C++, C# programming languages.
Influenced To	It was influenced to develop C99, Java, JS++, Perl, PHP, Rust, Lua, Python, Seed7 programming languages.	It was influenced to develop BeanShell, C#, Groovy, Hack, Clojure, Kotlin, J#, Python, Scala, and PHP languages.
Platform Dependency	This is Platform dependant	It is Platform independent
Main purpose	System Programming	Application Programming like mobile applications.
Design Goal	C++ was designed for systems and application programming.	Java was designed to create an interpreter for printing systems. It was later modified to function as a support network computing.
Multiple Inheritance	It supports Multiple Inheritance.	It does not support Multiple Inheritance. Instead, the same can be achieved via interfaces in Java.
Goto statement	C++ supports the goto statement.	It does not support the goto statement.
Pointers	Pointers are allowed in C++.	Although Java supports pointers internally, we cannot write a direct pointers program.
Documentation Comment	C++ does not support documentation comments.	Java supports documentation comments, which can be achieved using (/** … */).
Operator Overloading	It supports operator overloading.	It does not support operator overloading.
Compiler and interpreter	It uses only a compiler to convert the source code into machine code.	It uses both compiler and interpreter. The Java source code is converted into bytecode during compilation and this bytecode is executed to produce the output.
Call by Value and Call by Reference	C++ supports both call-by-value and call-by-reference.	Java supports only call by value. There is no Call by reference in java due to the absence of pointers.
Virtual Keyword	It supports virtual keyword letting us choose whether or not to override a function.	There are no virtual keywords. All the non-static methods are virtual by default.
Structure and Union	C++ support structures and Unions.	Java does not support structures and unions.
Thread Support	We must use third-party libraries for thread support in C++.	Java contains a built-in thread support system.
Memory Management	In C++, the memory management system is manual.	The Memory management system is controlled in Java.
Object-oriented	It is an object-oriented language. Yet, the single root hierarchy is impossible.	It is also an object-oriented language. Everything is an object in Java, excluding the fundamental data types. The single root hierarchy system exists by deriving everything from the java.lang.Object.
Input-output mechanism	C++ uses cin for input and cout for output operations.	Java uses System.in for and System.out for output, respectively.
Unsigned right shift >>>	C++ does not support the unsigned right shit >>> operator.	Java supports this operator to fill zeros at the top for negative integers. In the case of positive integers, it works like a >> operator.
Inheritance Tree	C++ creates a new inheritance tree each time.	Java uses only one inheritance tree as all the classes are the child of the Object class. This class acts as a root of inheritance.
Scope resolution operator	The scope resolution operator (::) in C++ lets us define a method outside a class. It supports both global and namespace scope.	Due to the absence of the scope resolution operator(::), the method definitions must take place inside the class. It does not support global scope.
Type semantics	It is consistent between primitive and object types in C++.	It differs for primitive and objects types in Java.
Runtime error detection	It is the programmer’s responsibility to look for errors.	It is the system’s responsibility to look out for errors.
Object management	It is done manually using new and delete keywords.	Automatic garbage collection takes place in java.

Applications of C++ and Java:

Now that we have a clear idea about C++ and Java, let us look at their applications.

Applications of C++:

It is appropriate to develop large software using C++.
Even MySQL is written in this programming language.
Applications like Adobe Premiere, Photoshop and Illustrator are scripted in C++.
Google Chromium browser, cluster data processing and file system are also written in C++.
C++ plays a major role in creating High-performance image processing, graphics-real-time physical simulations and advanced computations.
As it supports faster execution, Gaming development is usually done in C++.
In this era of technology, medical equipment like MRI machines is also created using C++.

Applications of Java programming language:

Java helps create desktop GUI applications.
Android and mobile applications are also effective when created using Java.
Embedded technologies like disk players, television, SIM cards also use Java to accomplish the desired task.
It also plays a prominent role in network applications and web services like Web App Development and Internet Connection.
The Java EE(Enterprise Edition) provides an API and runtime environment to run large enterprise software.

Conclusion:

Now, you might be a bit clear about the similarities, differences and applications of C++ and Java comparatively. Therefore, you can easily choose the language that you would require for a specific project. Look into other articles to learn the programming languages in detail and develop your skill.