.NET vs Java: How to Make Your Pick

admin

A comparison of the key .NET and Java/JEE features and services

Differences between .NET and Java
While they are similar in some ways, there are many differences in the internal workings of these frameworks and certain aspects of the languages that come with them.
Let’s look at the core differences that enable us to make our pick. These are just differences and not necessarily advantages or a disadvantages for one platform over the other:
Windows vs. Multi-Platform:
Though there are open source implementations of Microsoft’s .NET Framework, like mono to create cross platform applications, Microsoft .NET is primarily targeted for the windows operating system.
Java, on the other hand, is based on the idea that the same software should run on many different kinds of computers, consumer gadgets, and other devices on a network.
The big promise of Java is that it allows applications to run on different types of computers without having to be rewritten. Java applications run on "virtual machines" that were written for each platform.
Proprietary vs. Open source:
The .NET Framework is a concrete and free product that is developed by Microsoft and integrated into the Windows operating system.
It does not rely on third-party vendors to provide an implementation, although it is highly extensible and many third-party additions are available.
Although Java is provided by a number of vendors, most users will only ever encounter the Oracle JDK and JRE
(The OpenJDK is an open source version found on some Linux distributions and other open source operating systems, and IBM and HP both supply their own implementations for their big iron Unix systems).
One of Java’s strengths is that a wide variety of tools, products, and applications are available from numerous vendors.
Competition among Java EE vendors drives innovation, while strict compatibility standards help maintain quality.
Commercial, proprietary products co-exist with their Open Source counter parts.
Because of the open nature, third party tools like JRebel have been developed that can help cut development time significantly.
Microsoft users, on the other hand, must rely on Microsoft for all .NET innovation.
Also, for .NET, a standard development IDE (integrated development environment) is available with Microsoft Visual Studio.
This tool comprises all the things a developer needs to develop, debug, build and deploy any kind of application targeted for the .NET framework.
For Java, there are four main IDEs, Eclipse, IntelliJ Idea, Oracle NetBeans, and Oracle JDeveloper.  
Instead of being tied to a single environment, on a single platform (Windows), you are free to choose the product that best suits your needs, at many different price points,
and can choose to use Mac OS X, Linux, or pretty much any other platform for which a JDK exists to do your development work. However, there is no one standard tool that is available.