According to Microsoft, C# promises rapid development of Web services applications. If that sounds familiar, it is. Sun has been promoting Java the same way for years. In fact, many are wondering whether C# is just a rehash of Java that will bind developers even more tightly to Microsoft's platforms -- or whether they might be better off skipping Java and C# altogether and sticking with C or C++ instead.

All in the Family

There is no doubt that C++, Java and C# are different languages, but they have more in common than one might think. "C++, C# [and] Java are all in the same family of languages, and there are considerable similarities between them," Eric Gunnerson, who was a member of the C# language design team at Microsoft, told NewsFactor.

However, C# and Java have more in common with each other than with C++, according to Gunnerson. "C# and Java are both managed environments, and this means that object management is largely handled by the system, [whereas] in the C++ model it is handled by the programmer." In addition, he said, "Typical C++ code has lots of pointers, while C# and Java are reference-based, so the kind of code you would write and how you write it turns out to be fairly different."

So, based on the scope of a project and its target platform, developers and IT managers face a tough decision when it comes to choosing a language.

The Java Argument

Not surprisingly, Sun Microsystems senior product manager Larry Baron is in the Java camp. "Java is well suited for a wide range of applications," he told NewsFactor. "It is the de facto standard programming language for Internet-aware applications. It runs well on small systems and scales up to the largest multiprocessor data center servers."

Baron added that C# is best left to Windows. "C# is best for applications that must fit into Microsoft's .NET framework on the Wintel platform and need not run anywhere else."

For developers who already know C++ or C, Baron noted, the switch to Java is easy. In addition, he said, "presently, it is easier to learn Java [than C#, owing to [Java's] seven-year presence, wide-scale deployment, and the large amount of quality online, published and training help." (continued...)

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