Java vs. Ruby Programming Language Comparison

Java and Ruby are two popular programming languages that represent two very different approaches to structure and syntax. Java has a more formal, strict syntax. Ruby syntax is more forgiving and provides many shortcuts and abbreviations. Java is compiled and Ruby is interpreted.

The table below shows a sampling of Java and Ruby programming language elements that highlight these differences.

	Java	Ruby
Block	{    . . . }	def/class/do/if...    . . . end
Class Definition	public class Hello {    . . . }	class Hello    . . . end
Class Constructor	public Hello(Strng msg) {     defaultMsg=msg; }	def initialize(msg)    . . . end
Class Instantiation	Hello mHello=new Hello();	mHello=Hello.new("Hello Ruby")
Class Variable	static String myVariable;	@@myVariable
Comment	// Comment text.	# Comment text.
Constant	final static MY_CONSTANT;	MY_CONSTANT
Conditional	if (a>b) {    . . . }  else {    . . . }	if a>b    . . . else    . . . end
Exception Handling	try { . . . } catch { . . . }	raise . . .
Global Variable	public class MyGlobals {    public static String mG1 }	$mG1
Importing	import java.sql.*;	require 'extensions'
Inheritance	extends MyClass	< MyClass
Instance Variable	// Declared outside methods String mVariable;	@mVariable
Iteration	for (i=0; i<5; i++) {     . . . } for (myElement : myCollection){     . . . }	5.times do | i |    . . . end
Local Variable	String myVariable;	my_variable
Method Definition	public void myIdea(String param) {    . . . }	def myIdea(param="Starter")    . . . end
Method Use	myIdea(mParameter)	myIdea m_parameter
Namespace Reference	packageName;	: :
Null Value	null	nill
Statement Separator	;	new line
Variable	String mString="Hello Java";	mString="Hello Ruby"