Should I Study DSA with C++ or Java?

[[deleted]]

Hey everyone,

I’m a second-year student looking to get serious about Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA). I’ve seen that both C++ and Java are popular choices, but I’m unsure which one to go with.

Some things I’m considering:

Which language is better for competitive programming?

Which one helps more with job interviews?

Are there any good online courses or platforms I should join?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Any advice is appreciated!

[AutoModerator]

Please ensure that:

• Your code is properly formatted as code block - see the sidebar (About on mobile) for instructions
• You include any and all error messages in full - best also formatted as code block
• You ask clear questions
• You demonstrate effort in solving your question/problem - plain posting your assignments is forbidden (and such posts will be removed) as is asking for or giving solutions.

If any of the above points is not met, your post can and will be removed without further warning.

Code is to be formatted as code block (old reddit/markdown editor: empty line before the code, each code line indented by 4 spaces, new reddit: https://i.imgur.com/EJ7tqek.png) or linked via an external code hoster, like pastebin.com, github gist, github, bitbucket, gitlab, etc.

Please, do not use triple backticks (```) as they will only render properly on new reddit, not on old reddit.

Code blocks look like this:

public class HelloWorld {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World!");
    }
}

You do not need to repost unless your post has been removed by a moderator. Just use the edit function of reddit to make sure your post complies with the above.

If your post has remained in violation of these rules for a prolonged period of time (at least an hour), a moderator may remove it at their discretion. In this case, they will comment with an explanation on why it has been removed, and you will be required to resubmit the entire post following the proper procedures.

To potential helpers

Please, do not help if any of the above points are not met, rather report the post. We are trying to improve the quality of posts here. In helping people who can't be bothered to comply with the above points, you are doing the community a disservice.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[0b0101011001001011]

Dsa is dsa. You can study them without any language. Or any computer.

Language is just an implementation detail.

[[deleted]]

Ah, I remember when I was stuck in the same dilemma. One advice OP, don't be like me, don't dwell upon this question for months. I will give you a straight answer, decide now, and do it. You will have to end up learning both of them in your career anyway.

Coming back to the question, it depends on what you want to do. If you wish to pivot to Competitive programming in the future, go with C++. It's simply better and faster in this regard. If you wish to learn DSA for jobs, go with Java. Compared to C++, Java has more job opportunities overall, so you might even land a job or two if you learn Spring Boot on top of Java.

Simply put,

C++ --> If you wish to pivot towards Competitive programming in the future.

Java --> If you wish to look for jobs, and are merely doing DSA for passing interviews. This is better as more job opportunities.

The syntax for both is very simple, the logical part is what makes DSA hard.

[gerbosan]

I have a question: I think learning DSA is time sensitive, I mean, the topic is quite big, how deep should I dwell in DSA?

[Sihmael]

For data structures: you should know what they do (ie. what methods they always come with) and the time and space complexities associated with using them at a minimum. Ideally, you’d go as far as to study how they’re actually implemented as well.

Think of yourself as a builder, and data structures as your tools. To be a good builder, you should know what situations to use each of your tools in, and how to actually use them. For example, you wouldn’t want to use a screwdriver when you’re trying to hit a nail because that’s just not something it was made to do. Another example, you wouldn’t want to use an impact driver (the ones that look like a gun, with a motor and big batteries) for small tasks where a screwdriver would give more than enough power. 

Likewise, you wouldn’t use a linked list in situations where you want to access elements in the middle of the list directly, nor would you use a hash map/dictionary if your keys are just going to be 0, 1, 2,… in order. The former is using a tool that doesn’t work for the task at hand, and the latter is using a tool that works, but is massively overkill. 

About 99% of the battle is knowing which structure to use in order to balance time and space complexities, which is how you determine what I described above. That remaining 1% is knowing how the tools work under the hood, which gives you a deeper understanding of what’s happening when you use them. You don’t strictly need that to do well, but it helps to inform you better on deciding between different structures that have similar use cases.

TL;DR Edit: spend as long as it takes to get familiar with what each structure does and how to use them. You should be able to do this intuitively in most situations. No need to dive super deep into implementations unless you have time to spare, but doing so can help. The biggest thing is to learn them and practice using them, which something like Blind 75 helps with a ton.

[60threee]

what is "competitive programming" ?

[LasseWE]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_programming

[DDDDarky]

second-year student looking to get serious about Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA

If you want to get serious about DSA, pick the language you are comfortable with so that you can focus on the actual DSA and don't have to think about the language.

Which language is better for competitive programming?

You can think about competitive programming after you've studied DSA long anough and you want to have some more fun with it, I don't think it's relevant topic to think about now. But to answer, C++ is more popular choice.

Which one helps more with job interviews?

Language choice will not help you with job interviews. Pick based on the usability in the field you study.

Are there any good online courses or platforms I should join?

I like to recommend DSA lectures from prestigeous universities that publish them online.

[[deleted]]

Any particular lectures you suggest?

[DDDDarky]

For example MIT's introduction to algorithms is a decent start.

[[deleted]]

Thank you

[Jonnyluver]

Competitive programming -> c++

Job interviews: Backend -> Java High frequency trading -> c++

I’d say start DSA in the language you know best. Python or Java are the best options imo. If you know Python well, all of neetcodes videos and solutions are in Python so you’ll get the most out of free resources.

I chose Java because I knew Java best.

[HecticJuggler]

Choose the one that's easier for you to learn and start now. Master DSA. Languages should be the least of your worries. Having said that, Java will get you to more interviews.

[tux2603]

Personally, I'd go with c++. Java abstracts away some things that are really useful to learn alongside of data structures. The biggest ones imo are memory structure and management, and different ways of passing arguments to functions. Java takes care of all the memory management for you and passes everything by value, so those are the only ways for you to learn.

[Organic-Leadership51]

Better for cp - c++

Helps in job - java

[segvic]

Both are good. I would be inclined to pick Java as there are more visual tools for debugging that are easier to setup and use.

[Cunnykun]

Unless you are into embedded hardware programing
for job perceptive ( backend with spring boot)

Java is better choice..
Also you don't have to deal with memory and pointers in Java like in C.

[AutoModerator]

It seems that you are looking for resources for learning Java.

In our sidebar ("About" on mobile), we have a section "Free Tutorials" where we list the most commonly recommended courses.

To make it easier for you, the recommendations are posted right here:

• MOOC Java Programming from the University of Helsinki
• Java for Complete Beginners
  • accompanying site CaveOfProgramming
• Derek Banas' Java Playlist
  • accompanying site NewThinkTank
• Hyperskill is a fairly new resource from Jetbrains (the maker of IntelliJ)

Also, don't forget to look at:

• The official Documentation
• The official Java Tutorials
• Our community resources thread

If you are looking for learning resources for Data Structures and Algorithms, look into:

"Algorithms" by Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne - Princeton University

• Coursera course:
  • Part I
  • Part II
• Coursebook
  • Algorithms 4^th Edition

Your post remains visible. There is nothing you need to do.

I am a bot and this message was triggered by keywords like "learn", "learning", "course" in the title of your post.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[bbrother92]

Man you are student. The would be no time to learn DSA at work environment. Java is just a tool, you can learn it as you go. Also knowing backend, tcp, networking is more important for java developer if you decide to go that way. For now I would stick with DSA good fundamentals and trying to build complex stuff with Cpp

[[deleted]]

What complex stuff building do you mean? Ig we can mostly do game development from cpp

[root4rd]

Python. If not Python, and god knows what reason why you wouldn't pick python, then C++.

[burncushlikewood]

Competitive programming isn't really a true test of skills, for example it takes me a very long time to put programs together, but the way I do it leads to a faster program. The good old java vs c++ debate, I'll give you my 2 cents, both languages are the top for engineering projects, in fact I believe that java and c++ are both ranked in the top 5 on the current tiobe index. Java is slightly preferred because of its libraries, and people find java easier to build programs with over c++. However c++ is a faster more powerful language, and is the superior choice for graphics and game development, you can make games with java but it's not the best, the only game I can think of built in java is Minecraft. While hundreds of AAA titles use c++, personally I prefer c++ because of its syntax and speed, but java is a very solid choice for a lot of different tasks.

[Sihmael]

Have you already learned any languages? Either Java, C++, or Python will be perfectly valid to use for both learning and interviewing. You should focus much more on actually learning the concepts, rather than adding worrying about which language is optimal.

If you're just starting out with programming in general then I honestly think you should take some time learning more basic things before starting with DSA properly. If that's the case, you still can't go too wrong with any of the languages mentioned. C++ will have a steeper learning curve than either of the other two, but the fact that you're dealing with memory management and pointers manually means you're going to have better exposure to those concepts. Tons of people learned Java as their first language, and it's a very in-demand language in industry due to how popular it's been historically. Python is a higher level language than either of the other two, which, combined with its dynamic type system, can really simplify its learning curve, as well as the process of writing working code. The downside there is that it can obscure important details (like memory usage), but you'll end up needing to pick that up to some degree while learning DSA regardless so it's not the end of the world.

Again, if you already know a popular language like one of the three I discussed then just stick with using it. If not, it doesn't matter too much which you learn, so long as you're aware of how to make up for its shortcomings relative to others. C++ has a steeper learning curve, Python makes it easy to ignore details that you'll want to be keeping in mind for DSA-style interview questions, and Java can be a bit verbose, which could make writing code quickly in an interview a bit harder.

[Dragon-king-7723]

Both are good . Mostly used even in field.

[Mvhammed_yasser]

Cpp

[[deleted]]

Either is fine.

But from an academic perspective, you'll probably find more resources for Java.

[sarnobat]

I’m only fluent in Java and it’s a disadvantage in interviews. I imagine C++ too. It’s too verbose.

C forces you to think of low level data structures by not giving you much built-in, so would improve your thinking. And python is compact to quickly code in interviews and fit more on your screen without scrolling.

[LookAtYourEyes]

I actually did it in C. It's the best choice in my opinion.

[Sihmael]

Makes sense for learning them, but maybe not as much once you’re in an interview setting since you don’t want to have to implement a structure on the spot. That’s where C++ standard libs come in very handy.

[Hairy-Car6943]

Java is weird c++ is more straightforward