Java VS C#

[saiz66]

Hi guys,

I am planning to learn and certify myself with one of these languages. I am wondering which language you guys think I should concentrate on. Which language are there more jobs/opportunities/higher salary out there right now. I am living in Toronto, Ontario if that matters. The company I am working for is using a lot of Java applications which I have to support. So I was thinking if I concentrate on Java this would help me support the applications better. But I have a feeling that C# may be more popular than Java. I am asking programmers who have much more experience than me for their advice. Thanks :)

[Rudy]

Also I am not entirely sure that you should be focusing on certifications this much. On network engineering and similar fields I think it means a lot but in the developer's area, it's not, especially not for Microsoft. Get them if you want to learn the language, not to get a job. I never got any certifications and it was never mentioned. I am currently the tech lead of a development team (I've been senior dev and team leader before in different companies). We have two main architects and they don't have any certifications (I don't know anyone else knowing so much about software compared to them). Our IT manager (very technical) has no certifications.

As I said, this is mainly the case for Microsoft technologies.

Sooooo true! I can't speak for jobs in the US but in Canada I've never seen a developer job that required "certifications"

[Scott Hellewell]

Certifications might not be necessary, but they very well might be worth it. There are many aspects that you will learn studying up on the certifications that might be advantageous to you. When you do go looking for a job, you will find that being a Microsoft Certified Professional will not be detrimental to your job search.

[Fid]

Certifications might not be necessary, but they very well might be worth it. There are many aspects that you will learn studying up on the certifications that might be advantageous to you. When you do go looking for a job, you will find that being a Microsoft Certified Professional will not be detrimental to your job search.

Exactly - they can't hurt and infact even if you are applying for a job that does not require them (as many don't as has been stated) the fact you have a certification still shows facts about you - that you had the dedication, the self motivation to learn and study (and more likely on top of any job that you were doing).

Also you never know when it could be used as a deciding factor... e.g. if two equally good people applied for a java job, both had 5 years experience, both did well in interviews, etc etc... but one had a certification while the other didn't... I can only guess which candidate the company would go for.

Probably the reasons why certifications are not required is simply because in most cases, they don't show you are a good programmer. They show you know the ins and outs, the syntax etc of a language but that is it. (I've got the Sun Cert Java Programmer cert, which while good, that alone does not make me a good programmer).

[basques]

Exactly - they can't hurt and infact even if you are applying for a job that does not require them (as many don't as has been stated) the fact you have a certification still shows facts about you - that you had the dedication, the self motivation to learn and study (and more likely on top of any job that you were doing).

Also you never know when it could be used as a deciding factor... e.g. if two equally good people applied for a java job, both had 5 years experience, both did well in interviews, etc etc... but one had a certification while the other didn't... I can only guess which candidate the company would go for.

Probably the reasons why certifications are not required is simply because in most cases, they don't show you are a good programmer. They show you know the ins and outs, the syntax etc of a language but that is it. (I've got the Sun Cert Java Programmer cert, which while good, that alone does not make me a good programmer).

That's sadly not entirely true. As I said it might have different effects on different job titles and different technologies. On general Microsoft development topics, certificates are pretty much completely ignored based on my own experience, unless the company you apply for is a young company. Because pretty much everyone knows that you can pass the Microsoft exams by just downloading the dumps from the internet and memorize them a few days before the exam.

There is one case that the companies ask for Microsoft certificates, and that's when they are in need of a certain number of employees with certifications, so that they can renew/keep their Microsoft Partner status. That's why most of the companies pay for your exam fees if you want the take the exams.

As I mentioned, this is my own personal experience, and mostly valid for Microsoft certifications for .Net etc. It might be different for Java.

[nXqd]

I don't think choosing a language is that hard. Firstly, you should choose language that you work most of the time first. The change between languages, especially C# and java doesn't require long time. It looks like each other. Just read some article and comparison you will get the whole concept quickly.

I myself code C# a lot, just because Visual Studio is too good.

[lalalawawawa]

I myself code C# a lot, just because Visual Studio is too good.

And acompanied with Expression Studio, it is even better! :p

[Xerax]

Do C#, because it's better (due to the easy GUI editor). And hey, i do java at college. And it's almost identical. So, your better off learning C#, as everything you learn, you can utilize in Java anyway :p.

[NTAuthority]

as everything you learn, you can utilize in Java anyway :p.

Except for the APIs, clearly (unless using some wrapper for having the Java 'classes' available on the CLR). ;)

[Derp]

I've been learning C# for a long time now and I have learned to love it, and I tried some Java. After a few weeks, I went straight back to C# because I'm more in to application building, and with Visual Studio its very easy.

It all depends what you like creating.

[Descartes]

It's what Minecraft uses (not a fantastic looking example of a use of it but still). I'm also certain there are other libraries out there as well.

And this is why the game barely runs on lower end hardware... even though the graphical feel of it could possibly be emulated on a N64 or worse.

Which makes it a brilliant example why NOT to do games in Java. (I am not quite sure if C# would make a better option here, though... you probably want to end up with C++ for games - but C# still has DirectX.NET/XNA)

[lalalawawawa]

And this is why the game barely runs on lower end hardware... even though the graphical feel of it could possibly be emulated on a N64 or worse.

Which makes it a brilliant example why NOT to do games in Java. (I am not quite sure if C# would make a better option here, though... you probably want to end up with C++ for games - but C# still has DirectX.NET/XNA)

Take a look at Bloodline Champions. Its done in pure XNA, afaik. Its an amazing game, very e-sports oriented.

XNA! :wub:

[Fid]

And this is why the game barely runs on lower end hardware... even though the graphical feel of it could possibly be emulated on a N64 or worse.

Which makes it a brilliant example why NOT to do games in Java. (I am not quite sure if C# would make a better option here, though... you probably want to end up with C++ for games - but C# still has DirectX.NET/XNA)

Why is it an example of NOT to do games in Java?