Creating drivers with Java
 

I've been studying Java for some time after a one - year focus on C. I've found it a gratifying experience, basically. However, I am deeply concerned that the lack of pointers can be a serious limitation in the creation of more complex programs such as drivers or even an Operating System.

Whereas I'm aware that I could not create such programs at the moment, I don't think it would be appropriate to learn a language with which I will have problems in a couple of years.

Am I interpreting the lack of pointers wrong? If not, is there a solution or anything that can be done?

Thank you for reading this message :)

Pointers (through references) are behind everything you do in Java.

You also need to realize that not every language is good for everything. You can do one thing in one language but for something else you need to find a better tool.

Java was not designed for a lot of that low level manipulation, infact they wanted to avoid it because of all the little annoying tidbits and problems that can occur. The idea is to make Java *safe* to use.

If you want to do low level stuff, then Java is definatly not your best pick. It has it's own niche and it ain't this stuff...

Java is definitely not the language for writing device drivers or operating systems. Java is an interpretted langauge (kind of) designed to run inside of a virtual machine. It does not have direct access to hardware (except for the access provided by the virtual machine).

This makes Java ideal for applets (where you want to run code from the internet inside of a protected "sandbox" so that it can't damage your machine) and most kinds of user applications where you want a language that lets you avoid some of the messy details and yet retain most of the power of languages such as C++. Java has an extremely intelligently designed user interface creation API ( Swing ) for this sort of thing. And of course, the same compiled Java runs on Windows, Mac, and *NIX without change.

Java programming is an excellent skill to have, and it can make your life a lot easier if the project fits it, but it won't be replacing C++ and wasn't intended to do so.