Difference Between VB.NET and Java

VB.NET and Java are the two widely used programming languages available nowadays. They serve to develop a variety of software including web and android applications. The features and capabilities of both languages make it difficult to choose one over another. In this article, we will compare and analyze them based on some parameters such as syntax, features, performance, and applications to point out the difference between VB.NET and Java.

VB.NET vs Java

VB.NET

It is an abbreviation that stands for Visual Basic .NET. It is a high-level and object-oriented programming language that was developed by Microsoft in 2002 to implement it in .NET framework. To develop software using Visual Basic .NET language, we need to use Visual Studio which is Microsoft's integrated development environment.

Features

• Object-Oriented Language: To compete with other programming languages, its creators enabled the support of object-oriented features such as class and objects.

• Multithreading: It allows a VB.NET application to perform multiple operations at the same time.

• COM: It stands for component object model that allows a COM component written in other programming languages to integrate with VB.NET.

• Garbage Collection: It has an automated garbage collection feature.

• Decision Making: VB.NET uses Boolean terms during the process of decision making.

Java

It was developed at Sun Microsystems in 1995 by James Gosling and later it is acquired by Oracle Corporation. Java is an object-oriented, platform-independent and secure programming language. Around the globe, billions of devices are running using Java based technologies.

Features

• Platform Independent: The Java Virtual Machine and the concept of byte code enable the same Java program to run on multiple platforms.

• Object-Oriented Language: Java follows the object-oriented programming paradigm that includes the features such as encapsulation, polymorphism, class and objects. However, Java is not a pure object oriented language.

• Multithreading: It allows us to perform multiple operations simultaneously. In it, the operation gets divided into multiple smaller parts called a thread. Each thread performs one independent task without affecting the other thread's performance. The main benefit of multithreading is the optimal use of resources like CPU and it boosts the execution time of allocated operations.

• Automatic Garbage Collection: It is an automatic process of removing unreferenced objects or pieces of code that are no longer serving any purpose.

• Distributed: Java provides a few packages to communicate over the Internet using TCP/IP protocol. This feature allows the making of distributed Java programs.

Sample Programs

Java Example 

public class Main {
   public static void main(String []args) {
      System.out.println(" Welcome to Tutorials Point! ");
   }
}

Output

Welcome to Tutorials Point!

VB.NET Example

Module VBMod
   Sub Main()
      Console.WriteLine("Hello, Welcome to TutorialsPoint!")
   End Sub
End Module

Output

Hello, Welcome to TutorialsPoint!

The above codes have printed a simple message on the screen.

Difference between VB.NET and Java

The contents of following table will help you to understand the distinction between VB.NET and Java:

VB.NET	Java
Microsoft Corporation developed this programming language.	It was developed by Sun Microsystems.
We don't need to use semicolons at the end of statements.	Semicolons are used to signify the end of statements.
VB.NET uses the Dim keyword to declare a variable.	Java uses the type name followed by the variable name.
It uses the End keyword to mark the end of a block.	It uses curly braces to specify the end of a block.
It compiles the source code into Microsoft Intermediate Language before final execution.	It compiles the source code into Java bytecode before final execution.
The use of VB.NET is more common for developing Windows-based applications.	Java is more commonly used for developing cross-platform applications.
The default IDE to develop software using VB.NET is Visual Studio.	It supports various IDEs such as Eclipse, NetBeans and IntelliJ.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the features of Java and VB.NET programming languages. Also, explained sample programs in both languages. In the end, we compared them to find the distinction between these languages.