[Edu-sig] C vs Java

[Marilyn Davis]

Java is a high-level language, like Python, but more difficult for no
good reason.  I don't know why you'd want to learn it, unless someone
is paying you.

C/C++ will never die.  Java, Python, Perl, and other high-level
languages are written in C.  C is worth learning if you need your
programs to be especially fast and efficient at run-time.  It's harder
than Python though, because you have to keep track of memory yourself,
function calls aren't flexible like they are in Python, there's some
silliness to the syntax, you have to keep track of the types of your
data, there are no built-in data structures, ...  Python gives you a
lot for free.  But C is deeper into the machine, closer to the
hardware, satisfying in its own way.

Have fun and good luck!

Marilyn Davis

On Mon, 12 Apr 2004 arkamir at softhome.net wrote:

> 
> Hello, 
> 
>   Ive been sitting in the sidelines of this mailing list for some timenow, 
> and I know this has probably been asked but I was wondering whichone would 
> be more adventagous to learn out of C and Java. I am afreshman in 
> highschool, and am profecient in Python. I know there are awhole slew of 
> other languages out there, but I am researching intobuilding a robot as a 
> tool for learning a low level language, and thoseare the only languages 
> supported. I've heard a lot about how C is deadand Java's open source 
> compiler/libs lacking. Learning see C would begood for kernel hacking if i 
> ever get into it, but I'm most likely goingto have to learn Java for my AP 
> tests anyways. 
> 
> Thanks A Lot 
> 
> Conrad
> 
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