I told my friend that I'm going to learn C++ after learning Java. He told me that it's like going backward!!! He was saying why do I want to learn C++ after I'm learning Java..? Java is probably much higher language than C++, that's why he said it, but is it true that it's like going "Backward"??? He told me that here's suppose to happen:

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On what grounds is he basing that claim?

Java is managed - its dependent on a virtual machine for all interaction with computer hardware (incl. memory management, I/O, audio/visual, GUI, etc). Other managed languages include C#, Python, VB.Net

C++ is unmanaged - it relies on the programmer and 3rd party libraries to deal with hardware interaction and memory management. The same goes for Pascal and C

Whether to use a managed or unmanaged language depends on the kind of application being written. eg, when it comes to high-performance applications (3D games, operating systems, network services, etc), the last thing you need is a virtual machine getting in the way, slowing things down. On the other hand, if the application is strongly GUI-based, (probably designed for end-users), or speed/memory isn't that important, then Java or C# might be a good idea.

Also, for someone learning their first language, it can help to get all the frustrating, fiddly memory management stuff taken care of, so alot of introductory courses will typically start with Java or Python.

So, while the two languages are syntactically similar, and Java's SDK is available in C++, both are used for very different purposes, and can't really be compared.

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I agreed to your point that Java is more educational friendly than C++

I don't get what do you mean by this
So we can use Java SDK to program C++? Does it still require JVM to run an application if we use Java SDK in C++?

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The SDK is essentially much (possibly all?) of the source code for the java platform, and is written in C++ (At least, this is the case on Windows, Mac, Solaris and Linux). The SDK lets you write your own extensions to the Java language itself, so, having been originally developed in C++, its easy to see why Java looks similar.

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I'm just wondering here:
Does this case also applies to all programming languages? (or at least.. most)
Are most of them are also written in C++?

One reason why I want to also learn C++ is because it's the foundation of everything, and yeah, I want to know what's behind everything that works on my machine too!!!

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Well, I don't understand the motivation behind criticizing learning - no matter which so-called direction it's in. What you should be asking is what do you, as a programmer, want to code? The answer to that will help guide you to an appropriate language.

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Jeremy Miller
Content Farmer - Optimized Automated Blog Posting

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I also agreed with TeraTask's point. He didn't really criticize me because of learning C++, but I'm just wondering if his opinion is true about C++

The only reason why I want to learn C++ is that because it seems like it's widely used as the foundation to (almost) everything

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That's more than enough reason IMHO

If you're curious, Bjarne Stroustrup has written a list of just a few organisations/applications which have used C++
C++ Applications

He writes at the top of the page, that he couldn't list even a 1000th of the number of projects using C++ ... You get the idea.


One other reason, at least with regards to C (I'm not sure if it applies as much to C++), is that its widely recognised by employers. If you're competent in C, then you'll be more convincing when you come to sell yourself on other languages you know.

The employer may not need a C programmer, but if a PHP/SQL/C#/etc programmer also knows C, that adds more credibility, being essentially the 'de facto' language that many will look for in applicants. You could bet good money that the interviewer for a programming job will be versed in C too.

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