Difference Between C, C++, and Java

The programming languages C, C++, and Java are the most popular and widely used programming languages in the market. In this section, we will discuss the differences between C, C++, and Java. Apart from the similarities in syntax and that both are object-oriented, their design aim and philosophy are different.

C

C is a general-purpose, structured, procedural, and high-level programming language developed by Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Laboratories. The successor of the C language was CPL (Combined Programming Language). It is mainly used for system programming such as to develop the operating system, drivers, compilers, etc.

The best-known example of the operating system that was developed using C language is Unix and Linux.

Features of C Language

Machine independent and portable
Modern Control Flow and Structure
Rich set of operators
Simple, Fast, and efficient
Case-sensitive
Low memory use
Easily extendable
Statically-typed

C++

C++ is an object-oriented, general-purpose, programming language developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs in 1979. It is based on C language or we can say that it is an extension of C language. It is used to develop high-performance applications.

Features of C++ Language

Case-sensitive
Compiler based
Platform-independent
Portability
Dynamic memory allocation

Java

Java is also an object-oriented, class-based, static, strong, robust, safe, and high-level programming language. It was developed by James Gosling in 1995. It is bot compiled and interpreted. It is used to develop enterprise, mobile, and web-based applications.

Features of Java

Object-oriented
Architecture-neutral
Platform independent
Dynamic and Distributed
Robust
Secure
Multithreaded

The following figure demonstrates that C++ is based on the C language and Java is based on the C++ and C language.

Popularity of C, C++ and Java according to TIOBE Index.

C vs C++ vs Java

The languages are based on each other but still, they are different in design and philosophy. The following table describes the major differences between C, C++, and Java. It will help you to select which language you have to learn.

S.N.	Basis	C	C++	Java
1	Origin	The C language is based on BCPL.	The C++ language is based on the C language.	The Java programming language is based on both C and C++.
2	Programming Pattern	It is a procedural language.	It is an object-oriented programming language.	It is a pure object-oriented programming language.
3	Approach	It uses the top-down approach.	It uses the bottom-up approach.	It also uses the bottom-up approach.
4	Dynamic or Static	It is a static programming language.	It is also a static programming language.	It is a dynamic programming language.
5	Code Execution	The code is executed directly.	The code is executed directly.	The code is executed by the JVM.
6	Platform Dependency	It is platform dependent.	It is platform dependent.	It is platform-independent because of byte code.
7	Translator	It uses a compiler only to translate the code into machine language.	It also uses a compiler only to translate the code into machine language.	Java uses both compiler and interpreter and it is also known as an interpreted language.
8	File Generation	It generates the .exe, and .bak, files.	It generates .exe file.	It generates .class file.
9	Number of Keyword	There are 32 keywords in the C language.	There are 60 keywords in the C++ language.	There are 52 keywords in the Java language.
10	Source File Extension	The source file has a .c extension.	The source file has a .cpp extension.	The source file has a .java extension.
11	Pointer Concept	It supports pointer.	It also supports pointer.	Java does not support the pointer concept because of security.
12	Union and Structure Datatype	It supports union and structure data types.	It also supports union and structure data types.	It does not support union and structure data types.
13	Pre-processor Directives	It uses pre-processor directives such as #include, #define, etc.	It uses pre-processor directives such as #include, #define, #header, etc.	It does not use directives but uses packages.
14	Constructor/ Destructor	It does not support constructor and destructor.	It supports both constructor and destructor.	It supports constructors only.
15	Exception Handling	It does not support exception handling.	It supports exception handling.	It also supports exception handling.
16	Memory Management	It uses the calloc(), malloc(), free(), and realloc() methods to manage the memory.	It uses new and delete operator to manage the memory.	It uses a garbage collector to manage the memory.
17	Overloading	It does not support the overloading concept.	Method and operator overloading can be achieved.	Only method overloading can be achieved.
18	goto Statement	It supports the goto statement.	It also supports the goto statement.	It does not support the goto statements.
19	Used for	It is widely used to develop drivers and operating systems.	It is widely used for system programming.	It is used to develop web applications, mobile applications, and windows applications.
20	Array Size	An array should be declared with size. For example, int num[10].	An array should be declared with size.	An array can be declared without declaring the size. For example, int num[].