Every individual who has been to the software industry would have certainly heard of Java and .Net. They are two of the leading technologies used for the development of desktop and server-side applications.

Now, we are going to do is a comparison between a programming language (Java) and a framework (.Net). You might have heard people referring to both, Java and.Net as frameworks. Out of the two, only .Net is actually a framework. The .Net platform uses the ASP.NET as a web application framework with which developers create web applications.

What Is Java And .Net?

Java
As mentioned earlier, Java is a programming language used to develop software for several platforms. This programming language has much of its program code's syntax derived from two other famous programming languages: namely C and C++.

Java applications which are written and developed by programmers run on most operating systems, such as Mac OS, Windows and Linux. The programming language developed by James A. Gosling in the mid-1990s. He was a former computer scientist at Sun Microsystems.

Developing a program using Java requires a Java Software Development Kit (SDK). A Java SDK typically includes an interpreter, compiler, documentation generator and several other tools that help in producing a complete web application. By using Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), the development time of the software or app using Java programming language can be reduced. Some of the commonly used IDEs include NetBeans, JCreator, JBuilder or Eclipse.

.Net
The .Net framework is developed by Microsoft and runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. Microsoft released .Net during 2002. This software development platform is a free and open-source development platform which supports the development of a wide variety of applications.

With the help of the .Net platform, one can use different languages, libraries and editors to develop software/applications for mobile, web, IoT, gaming and desktop. The different programming languages supported in .Net include, Visual Basic, F#, and C#.

Java Vs .Net

• They are both multi-tiered technologies
  Java and .Net, both are three-tiered applications. The three-tiers are: server, client and database. These provide facilities to capture and record business logic data that occur through the web applications created.
• They are reliable solutions for large-scale projects
  Both the technologies work well with high-load systems, big data applications and complex architectures. Also, they are scalable.
• Desktop or mobile, you will get them up and running
  The applications developed using either of these two technologies can run on both desktops as well as mobile devices.
• The programming languages used in both look similar
  The programming language syntax for both Java and .Net is similar. Java is greatly influenced by the programming language C++. Also, C#, the language that used in .Net shares some syntax specifics with the programming languages such as C++, C and Java!
• They both follow the OOPs concepts
  The Object-Oriented Programming concept is for both Java and .Net. The modular structure of the code that follows the OOPs concepts allows the code to be reused, offer better troubleshooting opportunities and is very flexible.
• Working with other programming languages
  Java works well with a number of other languages, such as Kotlin, Clojure, Scala and Groovy. On the other hand .Net developers can choose between F#, C# and Visual Basic.
• Both are portable, but one is more portable than the other
  The migrating code between Java platforms is quite easy. Also the same can be done with .Net too. But it usually takes more time and is a bit more difficult.
• Both have their own IDEs
  Both Java and .Net feels at home in different environments which are, in the programming world terminology known as IDEs. The software or apps developed using these IDEs with their respective technologies accelerates their development. Visual Studio is the only IDE for building .Net applications. But Java has several IDEs available. These include: Eclipse, JBuilder, JCreator, NetBeans and IntelliJ IDEA.

Conclusion

After going through all the points mentioned above, are you able to reach a conclusion on which one is better than the other? No, right?

That is because, though both Java and .Net have different approaches, they have a common goal, which is to build website or desktop apps and other scalable software solutions for enterprises. Both have their own features; which means, it is up to you as a developer to choose one from the two technologies based on the project requirement. Below are a few points to be considered:

• Analyze the complexity of the application you are about to build.
• Portability is a big factor that should be considered.
• Take into consider the skill levels of your existing development team.