What are the main differences between C and Java

[Saman]

1. JAVA is Object-Oriented while C is procedural. Different Paradigms, that is.

   Most differences between the features of the two languages arise due to the use of different programming paradigms. C breaks down to functions while JAVA breaks down to Objects. C is more procedure-oriented while JAVA is data-oriented.

2. Java is an Interpreted language while C is a compiled language.

   We all know what a compiler does. It takes your code & translates it into something the machine can understand-that is to say-0’s & 1’s-the machine-level code. That’s exactly what happens with our C code-it gets ‘compiled’. While with JAVA, the code is first transformed to what is called the bytecode. This bytecode is then executed by the JVM(Java Virtual Machine). For the same reason, JAVA code is more portable.

3. C is a low-level language while JAVA is a high-level language.

   C is a low-level language(difficult interpretation for the user, closer significance to the machine-level code) while JAVA is a high-level lagunage(abstracted from the machine-level details, closer significance to the program itself).

4. C uses the top-down approach while JAVA uses the bottom-up approach.

   In C, formulating the program begins by defining the whole and then splitting them into smaller elements. JAVA(and C++ and other OOP languages) follows the bottom-up approach where the smaller elements combine together to form the whole.

5. Pointer go backstage in JAVA while C requires explicit handling of pointers.

   When it comes to JAVA, we don’t need the *’s & &’s to deal with pointers & their addressing. More formally, there is no pointer syntax required in JAVA. It does what it needs to do. While in JAVA, we do create references for objects.

6. The Behind-the-scenes Memory Management with JAVA & The User-Based Memory Management in C.

   Remember ‘malloc’ & ‘free’? Those are the library calls used in C to allocate & free chunks of memory for specific data(specified using the keyword ’sizeof’). Hence in C, the memory is managed by the user while JAVA uses a garbage collector that deletes the objects that no longer have any references to them.

7. JAVA supports Method Overloading while C does not support overloading at all.

   JAVA supports function or method overloading-that is we can have two or more functions with the same name(with certain varying parameters like return types to allow the machine to differentiate between them). That it to say, we can overload methods with the same name having different method signatures. JAVA(unlike C++), does not support Operator Overloading while C does not allow overloading at all.

8. Unlike C, JAVA does not support Preprocessors, & does not really them.

   The preprocessor directives like #include & #define, etc are considered one of the most essential elements of C programming. However, there are no preprocessors in JAVA. JAVA uses other alternatives for the preprocessors. For instance, public static final is used instead of the #define preprocessor. Java maps class names to a directory and file structure instead of the #include used to include files in C.

9. The standard Input & Output Functions.

   Although this difference might not hold any conceptual(intuitive) significance, but it’s maybe just the tradition. C uses the printf & scanf functions as its standard input & output while JAVA uses the System.out.print & System.in.read functions.

10. Exception Handling in JAVA And the errors & crashes in C.

    When an error occurs in a Java program it results in an exception being thrown. It can then be handled using various exception handling techniques. While in C, if there’s an error, there IS an error.

Article courtesy of Durofy

[Nipuna]

Cool Explanation.

Thanks Friend.

[Nuwa]

Good Explanation.

[SemiconductorCat]

JAVA supports Method Overloading while C does not support overloading at all.

JAVA supports function or method overloading-that is we can have two or more functions with the same name(with certain varying parameters like return types to allow the machine to differentiate between them). That it to say, we can overload methods with the same name having different method signatures. JAVA(unlike C++), does not support Operator Overloading while C does not allow overloading at all.

can I just add something?
There is something called C++/C naming convention , see


This is actually how the compiler convert a identifier into a symbolic name to store it in the
symbolic table.
In C++ the function parameters are also taken into account when it choosing it's symbolic name.
such as,

Code: Select all

void f( int ) ; // will be converted into  __f_i symbolic name.

read that wiki page for more information.Read the wikipedia page of
'Name_mangling' ( I don't have permissions to put links here , I don't know why).

and return type is not part of the signature of C/C++ or java. So it won't be considered either.

--sandun--

[Saman]

This is a comparison between C and Java. Nothing to do with C++ which has both function (method) and operator overloading. However you are correct on name mangling.

I don't have permissions to put links here , I don't know why

You will have to at least have 2 posts to add links here. I'm sure you'll be able to add now