What is the Difference Between C# and Java

The main difference between C# and Java is that the C# programs run on the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and Java runs on Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

C# and Java are popular programming languages which have many similarities. Both support object-oriented programming, which helps to model real-world scenarios easily. Using C# and Java, a programmer can implement multithreading to improve the performance of an application. They also have automatic garbage collectors for efficient memory management. Furthermore, both languages are based on C language. Read the article further to discover more differences between C# and Java.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is C#
     -Definition, Functionality
2. What is Java
     -Definition, Functionality
3. Similarities Between C# and Java
     -Outline the association
4. Difference Between C# and Java
     -Comparison of key differences

Key Terms  

C, C#, CLR, Java, JVM, .NET, OOP

What is C#

C# is a modern and general purpose programming language developed by Microsoft which belongs to the .NET framework. It helps in developing various applications including windows, web, distributed applications and web services. Moreover, the .NET framework consists of Common Language Runtime (CLR). It manages and executes the code written in any .NET programming language. Therefore, C# programs require CLR to execute them.

Overall, there are various programming concepts in C# language. It supports delegates, which are type safe method pointers. Indexer allows an object to be indexed like an array.  Besides, there are also LINQ properties and many other features.

What is Java

Similar to C#, Java is also a high level, general purpose programming language. It is used to develop various applications such as web, mobile and high performance distributed systems. There are various versions available in Java. The standard edition helps to develop desktop applications while Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is used for web development and Java Mobile Edition (Java ME) is used for mobile development. 

Furthermore, When the programmer writes a Java source code, it converts into an intermediate language called bytecode. And, this code runs on any machine with the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Thus, it makes Java a platform independent language.

Similarities Between C# and Java  

• Firstly, both support Object Oriented Programming (OOP).
• Secondly, both have automatic garbage collectors.
• Thirdly, C# and Java languages support multithreading.
• Fourthly, both languages are based on C language.
• Furthermore, it is possible to connect the C# and Java applications to Database Management Systems such as MySQL and MSSQL.

Difference Between C# and Java

Definition

C# is a general purpose, multi paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing that supports object oriented programming. In contrast, Java is a general purpose computer programming language that is concurrent, object oriented, and designed specially to have few implementation dependencies as possible. Thus, this is the fundamental difference between C# and Java.

Developer

C# was developed by Microsoft whereas Java was developed by Sun Microsystem.

Program running

The main difference between C# and Java is that the C# programs run on Common Language Runtime (CLR) while Java programs run on Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Operator Overloading

Besides, an important difference between C# and Java is that the C# supports operator overloading, whereas Java does not support operator overloading.

Class properties

Also, there are class properties in C#. However, there are no class properties in Java.

Delegates

Moreover, C# supports delegates, but Java does not support delegates.

Main IDEs

Furthermore, the main IDE for C# development is Visual Studio, while the main IDEs for Java development are Eclipse and NetBeans.

goto statement

Additionally, C# supports goto statement and there is no goto statement in Java.

Structures and unions

Finally, C# supports structures and unions while there is no structures and unions concept in Java

Conclusion

In brief, Java and C# are two general purposes, high level programming languages. The main difference between C# and Java is that the C# programs run on the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and Java runs on Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Overall, a programmer can select any of these languages according to the application to develop.

References:

1.“C Sharp (Programming Language).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Apr. 2019, Available here.
2.“Java (Programming Language).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Apr. 2019, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1.”logo de C#” By Andres15alvarez – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia.
2.”2327538″ via Pixabay