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Which is Better? Java or .NET

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Sterling Sherry
Which is Better? Java or .NET

There’s a debate going on in the technology world, and you might even be involved in it yourself: which is better, Java or .NET? Though each language has its own set of qualities that make it better than the other in certain situations, no one can deny that both have their benefits and drawbacks. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at each language and why it’s been so popular with programmers over the years, as well as some lesser-known facts about them both. Let's have an overview of Java versus.net.

What Is Java?

Java is a general-purpose computer programming language that can be used to develop applications for computers, handheld devices, and various operating systems. It was designed with a number of important design goals in mind: It must have an easily readable syntax so it’s easy to learn. It must support multiple hardware platforms so developers don’t have to worry about whether their application will run on certain machines. It must be extensible so that new functions can be added easily. And it must be portable across most operating systems.

What is .NET?

.NET is a computer software framework developed by Microsoft that supports application development for multiple programming languages. The underlying principles and concepts of .NET were previously conceived by Anders Hejlsberg and others on the Common Language Infrastructure team in Microsoft, and debuted in 2002 alongside Visual Studio. One of Microsoft’s primary goals with .NET was to simplify and streamline development across different programming languages, but it wasn’t until 2008—when it released version 3.0—that its goals could finally be realized.

Pros & Cons of Java

Java is a popular object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Since its release in 1995, Java has become a major force in enterprise development and rich client applications. Java’s popularity stems from several key factors: it works on multiple platforms, it can be used to develop applets for Web sites, and its source code can be compiled into bytecode for faster execution.

Java’s write once, run anywhere approach also makes it appealing to companies developing software targeted at global markets. Java also offers excellent performance for commercial-strength applications; however, .NET developers note that in some cases Java performance lags behind that of Microsoft technologies.

Pros & Cons of .NET

The main advantages of .NET are that it’s a mature and stable platform, and that it has some great tools. The biggest disadvantage of using .NET, however, is complexity: while Visual Studio and other programs can do a lot to ease development, they also carry quite a bit of baggage with them—and while some developers will love that extra structure, many others will see it as bloat. On top of that, switching from Java to C# means learning an entirely new language.

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