r/AskComputerScience • u/Mission-Maize8454 • 3d ago

C++ or Java?

Which programming language has the most return on investment? Impact on real world systems, and is more rewarding? I have minimal programming experience and working on AS in CS.

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u/Key_Net820 3d ago

IMO C++ not because it is more used, but because it is way easier to go from C++ to Java than the other way around.

Most full stack development does not use C++ and you'll mostly be using C++ for lower level things like embedded software, but the principles of object oriented programming and design patterns are the same for both, and having C++ is way more practice than Java.

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u/donaldhobson 12h ago

> but because it is way easier to go from C++ to Java than the other way around.

Fair. Learning C++ is hard, at least in part because there are quite a lot of C++ specific footguns. So a C++ person going to java mostly just needs to learn that a lot of the footguns have been removed. A java person going to C++ needs to learn every footgun in the language.

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u/alex_pushing40 2d ago

Embedded software