From C to Java

Hey,

I'm studying C but my next language will be Java. I'm wondering - other than flow of control and data structures like arrays and pointers - how much of what I'm learning will carry over to Java?

How different is OOP from C?
Is OOP easer or than C?

Pointers don't necessarily carry over, but a good understanding of what pointers are and how they work is a good thing anyway.

Flow control is about the same - if, else if, else. Switch/case/when are similar. Break & continue are the same.

All the relational operators are the same, and most of the other types of operators are either the same or just a little different - same concepts apply obviously.

No memory management to speak of in Java, compared to C. Scoping & visibility of variables is similar.

Java, of course, brings in the whole OO paradigm, with was modeled after C++.

I like both languages. Java is a bit overwhelming when coming from C, because so much of the language and use is built around all the extensive classes and libraries that exist.

I do like the OOP paradigm, but coming from a career in procedural programming, I do find myself programming with a bent towards that model.

Java means nothing if not related to the "Java technology". When talk about Java we must consider - at least - Java Virtual Machine which is it's so called "run-time framework".
The C family goes"up" to C#, and C# is close to Java but on a different framework, the Microsoft's .NET.
Like most of the operating systems, Windows had been developed in C, then in C++ (the Win32 APIs). It still is in XP and Vista, only that these C++ APIs are wrapped into .Net classes of which C# takes fully advantage as Java of "Java technology" (aka JEE).
Learning C will drive you to the best computer understanding, all the rest is based upon, except for the "Internet languages". A remarkable language of that kind is PHP, but thats' another story.
C# is very close to Java

Good quality responses,much appreciated So it seems I need to start checking out the Java libraries

Originally Posted by mesmer

Good quality responses,much appreciated So it seems I need to start checking out the Java libraries

Just study a Java book or a java tutorial and you will be OK. In a few words, Java is based on C, especially on the syntax, so what you learned from C will be useful for Java. That is why Java is based on C, because everybody knows C and they wanted to use a similar syntax

Java, the language, how they organizing codes and object oriented paradigm are best.

But NOT its virtual machine.
You'll be great disappointed about its performance.

Originally Posted by Opariti

Java means nothing if not related to the "Java technology". When talk about Java we must consider - at least - Java Virtual Machine which is it's so called "run-time framework".
The C family goes"up" to C#, and C# is close to Java but on a different framework, the Microsoft's .NET.
Like most of the operating systems, Windows had been developed in C, then in C++ (the Win32 APIs). It still is in XP and Vista, only that these C++ APIs are wrapped into .Net classes of which C# takes fully advantage as Java of "Java technology" (aka JEE).
Learning C will drive you to the best computer understanding, all the rest is based upon, except for the "Internet languages". A remarkable language of that kind is PHP, but thats' another story.
C# is very close to Java

There are no C++ APIs. None.
What there is are C APIs. And there is also the dotnet framework, which are not APIs, but are modeled to work with all the dotnet languages (C++/CLI, C#, J#?).

Originally Posted by C_ntua

Just study a Java book or a java tutorial and you will be OK. In a few words, Java is based on C, especially on the syntax, so what you learned from C will be useful for Java. That is why Java is based on C, because everybody knows C and they wanted to use a similar syntax

Oh, you would be surprised how different Java is from C, seeing as all the things you had to do manually and with great pain is trivial in Java, as it would be in C++, as well, since Java do, after all, build on C++.

If C++ is 2 steps forward from C, then I'd say Java is 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Originally Posted by Elysia

There are no C++ APIs. None.

What about MFC?

C++ is based on C, Java is based on C++, C# is based on both C++ and Java. This makes them all based on C in one way or another.

The syntax follows exactly like that. There are less differences than you would think.

You just need to know C/C++ compile into machine code which is executed by your operating system. Where as Java/C# compile into byte code which is "decompiled" at runtime by a virtual machine (advantage being cross-platform compatibility, passive garbage collection, etc). When you really understand the basic concepts, it doesn't matter what language you're learning.

Originally Posted by cpjust

What about MFC?

Framework for the Windows API - win32 C.

Originally Posted by cpjust

If C++ is 2 steps forward from C, then I'd say Java is 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Quite!

Originally Posted by cpjust

What about MFC?

But cpjust, MFC is a framework and not API... you should know that.

If C++ is 2 steps forward from C, then I'd say Java is 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Why there is so many language inherited from Java concepts then?

Originally Posted by audinue

Why there is so many language inherited from Java concepts then?

So many? How many? C#.. ActionScript.. Java didn't invent OOP or anything.

It's still 1 step forward. It's a good concept. It's like theorycraft. Psuedocode. It just doesn't play out as well as one would hope all the time. There's a lot less flexibility. As with most languages, sacrifices, pros and cons. Side-note, the syntax is a little verbose at times.

Originally Posted by Elysia

Quite!


But cpjust, MFC is a framework and not API... you should know that.

Well you mentioned the .NET framework, so I mentioned MFC.
Although technically, .NET and MFC (and Boost and...) are also API's (or at least have their own API's), they just aren't Windows API.

Originally Posted by audinue

Why there is so many language inherited from Java concepts then?

Maybe because Java is assimilating too many programmers, who then try to create a better language out of frustration?

java unlike C is an object oriented language

and there is no pointers in JAVA