Advantages and Disadvantages of Java over C++

Java is a true object oriented language, while C++ is basically an extension of object oriented concepts. That is what exactly the increment operator ++ indicates. C++ is the extension of C. Therefore, it is possible to write an old style program in which programming is not written in systematic form, uses long coding and runs it successfully under C++. Java appears to be similar to C++, when we consider only the extension part of C++.

This blog describes the difference between Java and C++ as well as the advantages and disadvantages of Java over C++.

Below are the differences between Java and C++: 

JAVA	C++
In Java, pointers are not used.	In C++, pointers are used.
Allocation and de-allocation of memory are done by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).	Allocation and de-allocation is the responsibility of the programmer.
Java is purely an object oriented programming language. It is not possible to write a Java program without using at least one class.	C++ is not a purely object oriented programming. It is possible to write C++ programs without using a class or an object.
Java does not have “GOTO” statement.	C++ has “GOTO” statement.
Casting is done by the programmer.	Casting is done automatically.
Multiple inheritances are not available in Java; however, this can be achieved by “Interface”.	Multiple inheritances are available.
Operator overloading cannot be done.	Operator overloading is available in C++.
There are four access specifiers in Java: private, public, protected and default.	There are three access specifiers in C++: private, public and protected.
#define, typedef and header files are not available in Java, but these can be achieved.	#define, typedef and header files are available in C++.

Advantages of Java over C++ :

• Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA) and Portable Technique:

One major advantage of Java programming is that program in Java can be written only one time and it can be run on any platform. There is no need to rewrite for different platforms. The written source code is first converted into byte code from Java Virtual Machine then byte code is converted into machine code. Most of the languages like C++ and C do not convert the source code like this. They convert source code into machine code directly and cannot follow the Write Once and Run Anywhere technique.

• Garbage Collection:

Java is known as a garbage collector, which is an automatic memory management. This garbage collector is used to de-allocate the memory occupied by objects that are no longer in use by the program. This eliminates the problem of manual memory allocation. Thus, this leads to minimum bug and faster execution time. On the other hand, no such functionality is available in C++.

• Performance:

As Java collector makes memory management much efficient, therefore performance is also better than C++. Also Java support multi-threaded concept, while C++ does not support this concept. Java also has Hotspot Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which has Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation for better performance.

• Reflection:

Reflection is the ability of a program to examine and modify the values, structure, metadata and properties of an object at runtime. Java has the full runtime capability to look at the runtime, while C++ has optional runtime type information but doesn’t have a reflection. Therefore, C++ does not have any such functionality of modification.

• Dynamic linking:

Java allows arbitrary collections of classes to be packaged together, dynamically loaded and linked as needed, while there is no such way to dynamically link to C++ classes.

Disadvantages of Java over C++:

• Full garbage collection pauses:

Sometimes garbage collection can’t be run in the background and can’t be avoided, which results in a temporary halt. However, this can be partially improved with increased memory footprint.

• No deterministic destruction:

Java does not have deterministic destruction. C++ has this functionality, which is useful for managing resources. In C++, when objects are deleted, their destructors are executed immediately. This releases the system resources, when an object is no longer in use.

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