So, I just found out my Comp Sci (programming) class ain't C++ like I thought, but Java. How useful is Java as a language? I mean, all I really know about Java is that it's used in a lot of websites... applets, is all I really know. Is it useful as a sort of jumping-off point for learning other languages (things like programming [at least the basics thereof] I've never really been able to learn from books... instruction is best in my case)? What's it similar to?

Java is very similar to C++... in fact, it's so similar, you'd swear Java was based on it... oh wait, it is!

I don't like Java, I never have. I'm an old school C programmer. Throw in some x86 ASM in there, and I'm a happy camper.

I took an intro to java so I am no expert, but Java has a bigger library than C++ which means you don't have to right a lot of classes that you would have to write yourself in C++.

Quoted: So, I just found out my Comp Sci (programming) class ain't C++ like I thought, but Java. How useful is Java as a language? I mean, all I really know about Java is that it's used in a lot of websites... applets, is all I really know. Is it useful as a sort of jumping-off point for learning other languages (things like programming [at least the basics thereof] I've never really been able to learn from books... instruction is best in my case)? What's it similar to?

As for a jumping off point.....most of what you're going to learn in that class are more abstract concepts that can be applied to many other languages. Logic structure, and whatnot. The code for a while loop or an if-then-else logic statement might differ between languages, but the logic remains the same. I've noticed a number of colleges switching off to teaching intro courses in Java. Not a bad thing, since it seems to be becoming a much more relevant language, and Java's not TOO hard to learn, either.  But, I'd definitely at some point look to supplement that with a Programming Languages course, and some kind of Digital Computing/Assembly course, to give yourself a good familiarization with the way programming languages are different.

Biggest difference I'd say off the bat is that Java by its design gives you platform independence (you can take a jar file and run that on Windows or *nix or even a Mac with very little tweaking whatsoever. It's also inherintly much more class oriented than C/C++, which can be wierd at first, but it soon becomes second nature. Doesn't mean you can't write a one class, one file program in Java....just it would be kinda rare.

Here's a  quick example of the difference.......in C++, the specific code for printing "Hello World" to the screen would be:
cout << "Hello World" << endl;

In Java:
System.out.println("Hello World");

On a personal opinion note, I spent all of college and my first 2 years of work programing in C/C++ (with some SQL, PERL, Lex/Yacc, and MOTIF to boot) and the past 3.5 years programming in JAVA. Hands down prefer Java better. LOTS more flexibility (how I wish I had the ease of Collections classes in C++!) and I've just found that I can do so much more without a ton of hassle.......

Quoted: I took an intro to java so I am no expert, but Java has a bigger library than C++ which means you don't have to right a lot of classes that you would have to write yourself in C++.

Not only that, but if you find a class you like, but need it to do something else...no problem!

Just extend it and rewrite methods or add methods. Very easy.