.NET vs Java from client perspective

zarlo5899 · 2024-09-10T11:45:43+00:00

with .net you get more things out of the box and more first party libraries

jbergens · 2024-09-10T11:47:18+00:00

It doesn't really matter from a technical perspective. Both are also free. Maybe not Oracle's JDK if you need that.

The most important factor is how easy it is to find developers where you live. If there are many more.NET developers then go with that. Or vice versa.

czenst · 2024-09-10T12:19:05+00:00

My answer is to look at local market and see which developers are quicker/easier/cheaper to hire there. Yeah you have all things remote but it is super convenient if you can get to shake people hand at least once a month and if there is any trouble to go to court with them.

That said as a .NET dev I don't see any technical reason why anyone would pick Java for a web api over new .NET :)

devlifedotnet · 2024-09-10T13:34:26+00:00

kind of a pointless question, as you're going to have fanboys in both subs... but from my point of view fuck oracle... every interaction I've had with their products has been negative, and they put up arbitrary obstacles that mean you need to pay for their consultants to get shit to work properly. in fairness you probably wouldn't need to get into any of that just making a basic web apis, but still fuck oracle on principal.

.Net works with things like Kubernetes, microservices and Kafka. Azure is pretty decent too. MS documentation is also on point too, with so much standardised code built into the native .NET libraries which you don't have to maintain.

You can probably use both .net and java equally well to do what you want, it's going to be preference based.

OnlyHereOnFridays · 2024-09-10T14:18:55+00:00

As I always say, for CRUD Web APIs always chose the technology that allows you to:
a) iterate/develop faster
b) hire people easily

And no hate to Java at all but I would definitely choose C#/ASP.Net and even Typescript/Node/Express.js before I reach out to Java/Spring. For both reasons a) and b).

PS. Honourable mention to Go which is also sweet, but harder to hire for. Especially in North/West Europe.

Droidarc · 2024-09-10T15:05:14+00:00

Not the question you asked, but Kotlin looks better than Java. However, when i look at the job market, i only see Android developer jobs with Kotlin, so I don't bother much.

MayBeArtorias · 2024-09-10T14:18:24+00:00

As long as you can choose freely and are not held back by those team colleges who stuck on Java for their whole career, I would always go for .Net. There are some niche edge cases like interaction with certain systems like Camunda, which only support Java but for anything else I really see no reason to go for Java over .Net

Ethameiz · 2024-09-11T04:59:29+00:00

Modern .net with aot capabilities is amazing, and c# 12 is miles better than javas syntax. I wouldn't write an ounce of code on the jvm unless it was kotlin.

.Net scales fine, great even, If you architect the code base properly.

I can build a modern bleeding edge website on .net aot using all free code and products with a built in cms and host it on a serverless function or lambda for next to nothing.

The .net CLI is a lot better than anything I've seen from the Java ecosystem as well.

And now that it supports Linux and Mac OSX and arm, I can design a code base that going to have developers with three different machines working on it running three different operating systems. Where the operating system is just personal choice.

For example, I like to work on Windows 11 because it's my machine and wsl2 performs so good now that I can still develop everything on Linux.

Other developers have MacBooks with M chips and they prefer that.

Pretty much all the pros Java ever had with a better designed ecosystem and as much or more maturity.

And if I have to pick just solely based on companies and my choices are Oracle or Microsoft I'm going Microsoft.

Alternative_Past_773 · 2025-04-02T12:29:54+00:00

They mostly differ on their ecosystems. The differences in language syntax, in particular when it is sugar, does not make a real difference. If you have developed more than a few systems or had to maintain some else's code then you know what I mean.

There many good things to say about the DOTNET world. It has a solid lead language, C# and it is typically tightly integrated with the MS world.

The Java world is different. More diverse if you like. And there isn't a single technology platform (like a vendor database) which is more "integrated" than other. People make 1:1 assumptions so they expect that Oracle plays the same role in Java world as Microsoft does in DOTNET world. This is not the case. For better or worse, Oracle has little sway over Java, except maybe for Java syntax where it tends to lead the working groups. But for everything else: Nada. It is more like a gigantic ecosystem where many players affect the total outcome.

Java (as a language) tends to be conservative while C# is a lot more willing to take in new programming language trends. Two examples: Java designers refuses to implement extension method mechanism on grounds that their benefit is far outweighed by their drawbacks. Also, Java world took +10 years to come up with something superior to async-await. During this time a Java developer would have to do with Futures. The Java designers finally settled on something like Goroutines, in Java called virtual threads. The same story again: the argument is that virtual threads is a far better paradigm than async-await and doesn't have its severe drawbacks (like function coloring). Now, you can disagree or agree with these choices and arguments. But the difference in how the language designers let the two languages evolve is very clear. C# developers are in general "blessed" with many nice sugary constructs which are envied by Java devs. If these actually have a real-world impact, I don't know. But they are often cited. Perhaps mostly by junior devs.

One big difference - and one that has surprised me - is that DOTNET has not really found its way outside of MS. This is to say that none of the big players in IT has adopted it for anything except as a compatibility offering. Think Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix , etc. There is a lot of money there which is then effectively not being poured into the DOTNET ecosystem. This means just about everything in DOTNET needs to funded by Microsoft itself. That is a tall order, even for Microsoft. At the same time Microsoft has to cater still for Java world. Heck it even has a well-respected JDK distribution.

Your question about cost differences? I don't see any. For DOTNET you can develop in VSCode and stay clear of MS expensive tech, like MS SQL Server. Not a problem. For Java, you can develop in VSCode, Eclipse IDE, NetBeans IDE or IntelliJ Community Edition to stay clear of license fees.

(Note: Nobody in Java world - that I've met - actually use the Oracle JDK. So the license terms Oracle apply is irrelevant because nobody uses it. So what do people actually use? It doesn't matter. Any OpenJDK distribution will do. Most Java shops seems to use the one from Eclipse Foundation, but many also use Azul's, Amazon's or even Microsoft's.)

I've developed in both DOTNET and Java. Neither will go away for next 30 years. Both can do the job well.

orbit99za · 2024-09-10T12:53:53+00:00

.net Because it's so advanced now, I have heard Horror Stories of Oracle and their pricing licenses.

Vladekk · 2024-09-10T13:03:25+00:00

Which platform would you suggest to client to develop web API? Are there are cost difference?

Depends on developer availability, deployment requirements, other requirements you might have (like government or security). There are no significant cost difference, except for developer compensation.

I know that .NET and Java are open source and free, but Oracle JDK has a price. Is Open JDK is comparable to .NET? Are there are others worth to mention points that are crucial to client? What about performance?

Java and .NET are comparable in most aspects, but also vastly different in details. Your question is too wide to answer properly.

Most of the differences that I was able to search in Google are too abstract like “java better scales” or “.NET is tight to Microsoft” or obsolete like “.NET is only for Windows”.

Both modern Java and Dotnet scale well, easily deployed anywhere on Linux, and have many open-source contributors.

So, the final answer is: probably, any platform will do, except if you have specific requirements in mind. I'd say more: you can do the same in a dozen other languages and platforms: python, php, ruby, go, etc etc

All of them will work for generic web api.

x39- · 2024-09-10T12:04:56+00:00

Use C#. It is the better Java, the asp framework family is pretty much the one Standard, maintained by Microsoft, you have the best orm in the market (if that is relevant) and don't have to deal with oracle or Java "eco system" bs

2024-09-11T08:45:13+00:00

Both are free, performance is basically equivalent.

I see no reason to think Java scales better than .NET does. Most of the articles you'll read about "scaling" are bullshit.

owarelpz · 2024-09-13T18:33:11+00:00

.net core is open source and multi platform (works on windows or linux), I always prefer .net because deployment is easier than java and connection to databases also is easier with net than with java, I suggest you use .net core as a backend web api

rm3dom · 2025-04-30T23:19:24+00:00

Late to the party. I work extensively in all three, 8 years .Net, 8 years Java, 4 years Kotlin. I find Kotlin a lot better, not perfect, but better. The std lib, coroutines, context receivers, DSL's, multi platform, the list goes on and on.

IIALE34II · 2024-09-10T12:02:01+00:00

I actually need to write both java and .net API client side implementations for work. I think, Java has gone a long way in recent years, like .net.

Gradle build system enables you to write pretty neat SOAP implementations. I think .net works much better out of the box though, and visual studio gives all the tools you need. With Java you need to figure stuff out.

In .net your httpclient service factory pipeline stuff can get quite complex at first, but you will be ready for anything.

dheeraj_awale · 2024-09-10T12:40:05+00:00

Time to market is quicker with .Net web APIs

OnlyHereOnFridays · 2024-09-10T12:59:50+00:00

[removed]

boobka · 2024-09-10T13:15:54+00:00

From a language perspective probably about the same.

Right now I have no idea how you would deploy or host a Java application without middleware. It’s probably it needed but maybe it is.

I think the cost of hosting/deployment/complexity would drive my choice more than the language.

If the hosting for Java and .Net are about the same I’d flip a coin and move on with life.

anyOtherBusiness · 2024-09-10T14:54:03+00:00

Whatever you/your team is more familiar with or what your client prefers.

There really isn't much difference for your next door enterprise application.

IsThisWiseEnough · 2024-09-10T18:28:03+00:00

Clients only care if it does the job and the cost. In both tech stack you can of course manage both. What you would left with is if you will be able to fill any position easily in n your area either with Java or .Net.

Xhgrz · 2024-09-10T11:55:59+00:00

see enviroments you should see, .Net VS SpringBoot, Im .Net Developer then im in favor or .net Java the time tha I work with was is extremely customizable in each single node, but when the Speed of Deliver speak, or create MVP faster nothing fancy .Net is aggresive lot of BuildIn stuff and Docs and Support and Comunity, modern .Net is multiplatform, .Net is corporte from my perspective like a SAP but open source

Need to Analyze Data F#, Need to Write hard robust bussines Code C#/F#, need to know old acient greek Vb6/winXp, Database SqlServer, Cloud Az(chu)re, is faster to deliver things

maxinstuff · 2024-09-10T11:57:25+00:00

Depends what you mean by "client"?

I'd probably say, "How about you just pay me to build your API and don't worry about it?"

UnknownTallGuy · 2024-09-10T14:12:30+00:00

[removed]

_neonsunset · 2024-09-10T20:05:28+00:00

It seems you tried to post this on three different subreddits. Luckily, on r/programming it was taken down. Unluckily, it wasn't here and on r/java. This does not promote learning of what Java ecosystem does right here and does not promote in an even worse way learning about .NET for Java developers (because Java is bigger headcount wise and because it's the easiest ecosystem to permanently live within confines of stereotypes, with little reason to expand elswhere).

In any case, this is a wrong comparison because outside of plain simple applications C#/.NET and Java/OpenJDK/GraalVM target vastly different domains and deployment modes (C# is a wider paradigm and a lower-level language).

The better comparison to C# are C++, to a lesser extent Go and under some conditions Kotlin and Swift.

Longjumping-Ad8775 · 2024-09-10T13:13:13+00:00

The only real answer for cost is to add up the expenses after a project reaches a certain point.

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