C# From a Java Developer's Perspective

Microsoft's C# has raised eyebrows, interest and debate since its official announcement last year. The prolific Carnage4Life (Dare Obasanjo) has completed a detailed comparison of C# and Java, outlining the things that are identical, similar, nearly the same, or completely different between the two languages. If you're considering learning or applying either one, you might benefit by reading this paper first. There are some other excellent comparisons to be found linked from the Open Directory Project as well. Update: 11/20 03:35 GMT by T : Note: here's a mirror; interested readers who mirror the mirror get good seats in heaven.

Comments

Non Portable

[Raven42rac]

I doubt very seriously that any web designer is going to use a non portable language such as C# in which to code. Just an observation.

Insert sig here.

Why do I get the sinking feeling

[GISboy]

with C# that "cross platform" will eventually mean Win9X, ME, NT, 2K and XP?

Or in some ominous "Morpheous" like voice:
"The .NET-rix is everywhere...."

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it... after all, Microsoft is doing it for the good of the community and Developers (developers, developers, dev....).

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA...I actually kept a straight face while typing that...heh.

{sniff, wipes tear from eyes..heeeheee}

Re:The lesser of two evils

[redcup]

Java and C# are both "closed" languages controlled by large corporate entities with their own self-interests in mind

Agreed - but Java at least attempts "write once, run anywhere," (with debatable success) whereas M$ C# attempts "write once, run on Windows XP, with Windows Messenger and a .Net Passport or else"

I have a lot more faith trusting my applications and business to a company that isn't trying to take over every purchasing decision we make. If you have read the fine print that comes with Windows messenger - the other half of .Net - it essentially gives Microsoft the right to modify the application at any time, with out notifying you. Oh, and these upgrades might not be free! The bottom line? Microsoft is going to decide sometime in the future to cut you off, and then make you pay. And you would trust these people not to do the same with C#??

One day your app or service isn't going to run, and all you see in your logs will be "Call Miscrosoft to obtain a license to run C#"

The author has it backwards (C++ vs Java)

[Chuck Messenger]

The author asserts that Java is akin to the English language (non-centralized evolution directed by popular demand), while C++ is akin to the official French as defined by the Academe Francaise.

Firstly, the author has this backwards: the Java language design is dictated by one organization -- Sun; thus, akin to French. C++ is the result of broad-based popular demand (the C++ Standards Committe).

Secondly, C++ is in many important ways significantly more modernized than Java. Most important is templates and the STL, supporting generic programming. Also important is multiple inheritance. While C++ doesn't "have garbage collection", it is no problem to design a programming framework in C++ which supports it (and you can design a much more sophisticated garbage collection system than comes with Java). Besides, with STL-style programming, it is becoming ever-less important as an issue. Meanwhile, Java suffers from its inability to precisely control when objects are destructed.

Java certainly has its uses. It's a fantastic platform for rapid cross-platform development. However, it's not in the same league as C++. You'd write Java in C++, but not the reverse. It's somewhere between a scripting language and a "serious" language.