Hello developers! How’s your coding life? Hope you’re doing well. Today, I am here with an interesting topic for you. But before that, I would like to ask you a question. You might be curious to answer my question, right? So, the question is, you might be familiar with C and Java programming languages for many days, but do you ever thought of the difference between them?
So, this is our topic today. This article is very useful for software learners and developers like you and especially for them, whose answer is “NO” to my above-mentioned question. So, without making it late, let us start our topic.
Before learning the differences between Java and C programming languages, let us first recall some basics about these programming languages. This is because, when you know the basics of these languages, it will be easy for us to compare and find differences between them.
C Programming Language:
You can use this computer programming language to create lists of instructions for a computer to follow. There are thousands of programming languages in the present technology that are currently in use and the C language is one of them. People are using the C language for several decades because it gives programmers maximum control and efficiency. C has received worldwide acceptance as it is an easy language to learn.
C is what is called a compiled language. When you write a program in C language, you must run it through a C compiler. Only then, you can turn your program into an executable form. Generally, the C program is the human-readable form, but the one that comes out of the compiler is the machine-readable and executable form.
Even though C is a very old programming language, it is considered a popular programming language used by millions of software coders for various applications in their coding life. In simple words, C language is a general-purpose programming language. In 1972, a person named Dennis Ritchie discovered and created this programming language at the Bell Laboratories.
Earlier you might have studied that ‘C’ is a base language for many programming languages. So, it is Important to learn ‘C’ as the main language. It will play an important role even while you are studying other programming languages. Like other programming languages, the same concepts such as data types, operators, control statements, and many more are shared by the C language.
You can use the C language widely in various applications. It is not only a simple language but also provides faster execution for your program of a required solution. In the present digital market, you can find many jobs as a C developer. So learning the C language will be very helpful to you for getting a job with a good package.
Generally, ‘C’ is a structured programming language where the program is divided into various modules. You can write each module of the program separately and later both together forms a single ‘C’ program. By using this type of technique, you can make a program easy to test, maintain and debug processes.
According to our research, there are 32 keywords, various data types, and a set of powerful built-in functions in C. That is why programming with the C language is very efficient.
There is an interesting feature in C programming where the program written in the C language can extend itself. This is because there are various functions in C which are part of a library. It is also possible to add your features and functions to the library. You can also access and use these added functions anytime you want in your program. You can use this feature while working with complex programming.
You will find various compilers available in the market where you will be able to use them for executing programs written in this language. You can run programs written in C programming language on other machines also. Hence, it is well-known as a highly portable language.
Let us look at the hello world program in C:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World! \n");
return 0;Java Programming Language:
Java is a general-purpose language that is based on the class. This object-oriented programming language is designed for having lesser implementation dependencies. You can use this language as a computing platform for developing various applications. Many people use this language for developing Java applications in laptops, data centers, game consoles, scientific supercomputers, and cell phones because it is fast, secure, and reliable.
As Java Programmer, you can write a java program in a human-readable language. This language is known as Source Code. You can observe that the CPU or Chips never understand the source code written in any programming language because it is written in human-readable language.
There is only one language that these computers or chips can be able to understand is another type of language, which is called machine language or code. You can run these machine codes at the CPU level. That is why the machine codes will be different machine codes for other models of CPU.
James Gosling is the one who originally developed the Java language. This programming language first originated at Sun Microsystems. However, now it is taken over by Oracle. Hundreds of Software Companies and millions of developers all around the globe considered this as the primary language. The Java programming language became more popular these days and it is widely used by many developers to build software applications to solve real-world problems.
In the present programming world, there are different types of Java Platforms that are used by many programmers for developing the software. I have come to know that the Platforms of Java programming language are divided into four different types.
1. Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE):
The first java platform is known as Java Platform Standard Edition(Java SE). The Java programming language’s core functionality is offered by the API of this edition. All the basis of types and objects to high-level classes are defined in this edition. Many developers use this platform for networking, security, database access, graphical user interface (GUI) development, and XML parsing.
2. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE):
The Java Platform Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is the second type of platform. It provides you with an API and runtime environment which is used to develop and run highly scalable, large-scale, multi-tiered, reliable, and secure network applications.
3. Java Programming Language Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME):
The Java Programming Language Platform Micro Edition (Java ME) is the third type of Java platform. Here, you will be provided with an API and a small-footprint virtual machine that is used to run Java programming language applications on small devices, like mobile phones.
4. Java FX:
This is a platform where you will be able to develop rich internet applications. Here, you will use a lightweight user-interface API. It uses Hardware-accelerated graphics and media engines used by this platform. Using this, Java connects to networked data sources taking the advantage of higher-performance clients and a modern look-and-feel and high-level APIs.
Difference Between Java and C programming Languages
There are many differences between Java and C Programming languages in different aspects. Let us find those differences using those aspects. The following is the list of those aspects followed by the required details.
1. Language Level:
C language is a middle-level language whereas the Java programming language is a high-level language.
2. Paradigm:
C language is based on structure and procedure whereas the Java language is based on object orientation.
3. Approach:
The approach that is used to design the application in C programming language is the top-down approach whereas Java programming language uses a bottom-down approach to design the application.
4. Platform dependence:
C language always depends on a certain platform. In C language, once you write a program, you will be able to compile it anywhere. But, in the case of Java programming language, it doesn’t depend on any platform. In Java programming language, once you write a program, you will be able to run it anywhere irrespective of the platform.
5. Pointers:
You can use pointers in the C programming language because they support the concept of pointers while you are writing a program. But, in the case of Java programming language, you cannot use the concept of the pointer as Java doesn’t support the concept of the pointer.
6. Translation:
C programming language is known as a compiled language whereas the Java programming language is known as an interpreted language.
7. Keywords:
The total number of keywords used in the C language is 32 whereas, in Java programming language, the total number of keywords used is 50.
8. Memory allocation:
In the C programming language, the Memory allocation can be done with the help of malloc whereas, in Java language, the Memory allocation can be done with the help of a new keyword.
9. Functional Units:
In the C programming language, we use functions as the functional units whereas, in the Java programming language, objects are the functional units.
10. Security:
The C programming language is not as secure as the Java Programming language.
11. Exception handling:
You cannot use exception handling in the C language whereas exception handling is present in the Java programming language.
12. Inheritance:
The inheritance technique that is useful for code reusability is not supported in the C programming language whereas the Java programming language supports inheritance.
13. Garbage Collector:
In the C programming language, you need to manage the garbage collector manually. But in the case of the Java language, Garbage collection is done automatically.
14. Call by reference and Call by value:
Both Call by reference and Call by value is supported in C language whereas only Call by value is supported in the Java programming language.
15. Application:
You can use the C programming language for both system programming as well as Application programming whereas Java is used only for Application programming. You cannot use the system programming in Java.
16. File Extension:
You need to store the codes written in the C programming language with the .c file extension. And in Java, the codes are stored with the .java file extension.
17. Robust:
C programming language is not a robust language because memory management in C is weak. But, the memory management in the Java programming language is strong. So, Java is a robust programming language.
18. Threading:
Even though C is not a multithreaded language, many threading functionalities are added by some libraries in the C program.
19. Portability:
C is not a portable programming language whereas Java is a portable programming language
20. Features:
Features and concepts like Polymorphism, Virtual Function, and Operator Overloading are not supported in C whereas the Java programming language supports all these features and concepts.
These are the differences between C and Java programming languages in various aspects. Now, let us see the differences in advantages and disadvantages of C and Java programming languages.
Advantages of the C programming language:
- You will experience high-speed compilation in the C programming language.
- The syntax of the C programming language is easy to understand and it is very simple.
- A lot of built-in libraries are supported in this programming language.
- You can easily extend the codes written in C language.
Advantages of the Java programming language:
- This programming language is extremely desirable for developers because it supports Object-Oriented Programming. This feature is used to build software products to solve real-world problems.
- Java language has great support of built-in classes and libraries.
- You will be able to build distributed systems in the Java programming language because of its network-centric feature.
- With the help of the multithreading feature, you can run a code on multiple threads at once. This will increase the performance of the system.
These are the complete differences between the C and Java programming languages. Comparing and observing both these languages helps you to differentiate them clearly. So that you will know which language is better to use.
