Please I would like to know to differences between C++ and Java, also the similarities between them.
There are many differences and similarities between C++ programming language and Java. A list of top differences between C++ and Java are given below:
| Comparison Index | C++ | Java |
|---|---|---|
| Platform-independent | C++ is platform-dependent. | Java is platform-independent. |
| Mainly used for | C++ is mainly used for system programming. | Java is mainly used for application programming. It is widely used in window, web-based, enterprise and mobile applications. |
| Goto | C++ supports goto statement. | Java doesn't support goto statement. |
| Multiple inheritance | C++ supports multiple inheritance. | Java doesn't support multiple inheritance through class. It can be achieved by interfaces in java. |
| Operator Overloading | C++ supports operator overloading. | Java doesn't support operator overloading. |
| Pointers | C++ supports pointers. You can write pointer program in C++. | Java supports pointer internally. But you can't write the pointer program in java. It means java has restricted pointer support in java. |
| Compiler and Interpreter | C++ uses compiler only. | Java uses compiler and interpreter both. |
| Call by Value and Call by reference | C++ supports both call by value and call by reference. | Java supports call by value only. There is no call by reference in java. |
| Structure and Union | C++ supports structures and unions. | Java doesn't support structures and unions. |
| Thread Support | C++ doesn't have built-in support for threads. It relies on third-party libraries for thread support. | Java has built-in thread support. |
| Documentation comment | C++ doesn't support documentation comment. | Java supports documentation comment (/** ... */) to create documentation for java source code. |
| Virtual Keyword | C++ supports virtual keyword so that we can decide whether or not override a function. | Java has no virtual keyword. We can override all non-static methods by default. In other words, non-static methods are virtual by default. |
| unsigned right shift >>> | C++ doesn't support >>> operator. | Java supports unsigned right shift >>> operator that fills zero at the top for the negative numbers. For positive numbers, it works same like >> operator. |
| Inheritance Tree | C++ creates a new inheritance tree always. | Java uses single inheritance tree always because all classes are the child of Object class in java. Object class is the root of inheritance tree in java. |
