browsers like Netscape can execute Java programs by interpreting the bytecode, regardless of what type of machine the browser is running on. There is currently a large debate going on over whether Java is all that it is cracked up to be. Some say that Java is a wonder language that will eventually support it’s own platform and leave the Windows OS in the dust. There are others that say Java not nearly as good as everyone says it is, and besides some nifty web applets, Java is not very useful. These people should bear in mind that Java is relatively new, and not too many software developers have started using it. If Java can live up to it’s potential as a truly object oriented programming language, it could change the face of computing as we know it. C++, on the other hand, has been around for a little while and is currently very integrated into the computer community. Just about everyone agrees that C++ is useful and although it may not be the best object oriented programming language out there, it is certainly here to stay. Bibliography 1. Prata, Stephen. C++ Primer Plus, second edition. Corte Madera, CA: The Waite Group, 1995. 2. Nygren, Kaj. "Java Course Notes." Reading material for the 1996 MMS course, 1996 http://media.it.kth.se/mms/java/CourseDoc.html 3. "How C, C++, and Java Differ." 1996 http://www.ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/devtools/java/java/noMoreC/index.html 4. http://www.surinam.net/java/java.html 5. Baer, David M. "Love it, C/C++, hate it: I love it’s portability." Computerworld 23 October, 1995: 116-119. 6. Smalley Bowen, Ted. "Java’s for real." Infoworld 4 November, 1996: 1-3....
