Hi

I hoping someone can give me a brief description of Pros and Cons of the different OO Languages; Java, C, C++, C#, VB.Net, etc.

What Language is suited to which project size and type?

Thanks,
Sean

(Briefly)
Java:

• compiled to bytecode that's run in the Java Virtual Machine, hence it's cross-platform
• syntax similar to C/C++ (uses brackets and static types)
• extensive libraries
• relatively slow since it's not compiled to native OS
• most often used for web applications and enterprise systems
• has garbage collection for fewer memory leaks
• nearly everything has to be written in classes, making even simple programs seem unwieldy
• can be easier to learn than C++
• seems to be replacing C++ as the most popular language requested on job sites

C++

• static types mean you always know what a variable is supposed to be (but you can't change it if necessary)
• brackets used for blocks of code (easy to forget to close)
• been around forever so many people know how to use it
• extensive libraries
• STL makes programmer's life easier for some things
• must be compiled to specific OS (limited portability)
• no garbage collection; you must determine all memory allocations and releases
• many other languages based on it (Java, C#, Python, PHP, etc.)
• still one of the most used languages for application development

Python

• can mix OO with functions as necessary
• dynamic types don't have to be declared up front and can change if needed
• based on C
• garbage collection
• current version (2.5) has sqlite library included, so you have a lite weight DB included
• has bindings for pure C/C++, Java, .NET, and others (can embed other languages into Python or vice versa as necessary)
• has built in GUI library (Tkinter)
• used extensively by Google, NASA, et al. and found frequently in video games
• easy to learn yet powerful

C
Not an OOP language, though it can be "fooled" into acting like one (according to some people on Slashdot). Even if it can, why bother? Just use a real OOP language.

C#, VB.NET, Perl, etc.
I have no real experience with these other than trying a couple tutorials a while back.

VB.NET is supposed to be relatively easy to learn yet powerful, but I've read many accounts that it teaches bad programming practices (though I don't know what exactly). I don't care for the syntax because it feels too verbose for me; when I write code, I want to get the job done w/o it feeling like writing a book. VB uses a lot of long words to do the same things as other languages so I didn't bother looking any further.

C# is a "better C++", just like Java is supposed to be. I haven't used it enough to give a good comparison to Java, but it does have things like garbage collection that make it better than C++. Of the MS languages, it's the one I wouldn't mind learning if I had spare time.

The neat thing about .NET languages is that they use a common runtime language so regardless of which .NET language you use (C#, J#, VB.NET), they are all compiled into a similar bytecode that can be run on any OS that has the .NET runtime. Hence, you can use C# to create programs for Windows or Linux; the Mono project is the C# implementation for Linux.

Perl is now implementing OOP with the latest version. I've never used it because it seems way more cryptic than I want to mess with. However, it's used extensively for web site scripting and string processing, though it's on the decline.

__________________
Start Programming with Python-A beginner's guide to programming and the Python language.
-------------
Common Sense v2.0-Striving to make the world a little bit smarter.

Thanks, Great Answer, I really appreciate it.