programming languages

Rank

Java vs Scheme

  1. This is a mainstream language

    97% 3%
    Java 113 out of 116 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  2. This language has a strong static type system

    90% 10%
    Java 218 out of 240 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  3. Third-party libraries are readily available, well-documented, and of high quality

    90% 10%
    Java 218 out of 242 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  4. This language is large

    89% 11%
    Java 209 out of 233 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  5. I know many other people who use this language

    89% 11%
    Java 215 out of 241 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  6. I use many applications written in this language

    88% 12%
    Java 212 out of 240 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  7. Code written in this language tends to be verbose

    87% 13%
    Java 221 out of 252 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  8. There are many good commercial tools for this language

    85% 15%
    Java 205 out of 239 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  9. This language has many features which feel "tacked on"

    85% 15%
    Java 197 out of 231 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  10. I usually use this language on projects with many other members

    84% 16%
    Java 179 out of 211 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  11. There is a lot of accidental complexity when writing code in this language

    83% 17%
    Java 177 out of 211 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  12. Code written in this language will usually run in all the major implementations if it runs in one of them.

    83% 17%
    Java 81 out of 97 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  13. There are many good tools for this language

    83% 17%
    Java 184 out of 221 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  14. Libraries in this language tend to be well documented.

    82% 18%
    Java 82 out of 99 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  15. The thought that I may still be using this language in twenty years time fills me with dread

    82% 18%
    Java 192 out of 232 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  16. This language has a good library distribution mechanism.

    81% 19%
    Java 80 out of 98 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  17. When I run into problems my colleagues can provide me with immediate help with this language

    81% 19%
    Java 184 out of 226 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  18. Writing code in this language is a lot of work

    80% 20%
    Java 206 out of 255 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  19. There is a wide variety of open source code written in this language

    80% 20%
    Java 200 out of 249 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  20. This language is best for very large projects

    80% 20%
    Java 179 out of 223 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  21. I would use this language for a desktop GUI project

    78% 22%
    Java 200 out of 254 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  22. This language is frequently used for applications it isn't suitable for

    78% 22%
    Java 164 out of 209 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  23. I would list this language on my resume

    74% 26%
    Java 173 out of 233 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  24. I know this language well

    74% 26%
    Java 1483 out of 1999 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  25. There are many good open-source tools for this language

    73% 27%
    Java 166 out of 225 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  26. I would use this language for writing server programs

    73% 27%
    Java 159 out of 216 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  27. This language has a very rigid idea of how things should be done

    72% 28%
    Java 175 out of 241 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  28. I learned this language early in my career as a programmer

    71% 29%
    Java 87 out of 122 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  29. This is a low level language

    71% 29%
    Java 171 out of 240 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  30. I can imagine using this language in my day job

    70% 30%
    Java 193 out of 272 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  31. This language is unusually bad for beginners

    70% 30%
    Java 190 out of 268 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  32. This language is suitable for real-time applications

    70% 30%
    Java 153 out of 216 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  33. I use a lot of code written in this language which I really don't want to have to make changes to

    70% 30%
    Java 46 out of 65 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  34. I would use this language for mobile applications

    70% 30%
    Java 165 out of 234 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  35. This language excels at concurrency

    69% 31%
    Java 161 out of 232 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  36. This language has a high quality implementation

    69% 31%
    Java 81 out of 117 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  37. This language is well documented

    69% 31%
    Java 164 out of 237 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  38. This language encourages writing reusable code.

    67% 33%
    Java 70 out of 103 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  39. Programs written in this language tend to play well with others

    67% 33%
    Java 142 out of 211 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  40. This language has well-organized libraries with consistent, carefully thought-out interfaces

    67% 33%
    Java 143 out of 213 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  41. Programs written in this language will usually work in future versions of the language

    66% 34%
    Java 146 out of 218 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  42. Programs written in this language tend to be efficient

    65% 35%
    Java 147 out of 223 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  43. I regularly use this language

    65% 35%
    Java 183 out of 278 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  44. I am reluctant to admit to knowing this language

    65% 35%
    Java 126 out of 192 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  45. This language has an annoying syntax

    65% 35%
    Java 78 out of 119 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  46. I would use this language for a web project

    65% 35%
    Java 165 out of 252 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  47. Developers who primarily use this language often burn out after a few years

    65% 35%
    Java 105 out of 161 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  48. This language has a wide variety of agreed-upon conventions, which are generally adhered to reasonably well, and which increase my productivity

    64% 36%
    Java 147 out of 227 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  49. I am sometimes embarrassed to admit to my peers that I know this language

    64% 36%
    Java 120 out of 186 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  50. I find it easy to write efficient code in this language

    63% 37%
    Java 152 out of 238 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  51. It is easy to debug programs written in this language when it goes wrong

    63% 37%
    Java 138 out of 217 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  52. This language is good for distributed computing

    63% 37%
    Java 126 out of 199 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  53. If my code in this language successfully compiles, there is a good chance my code is correct.

    63% 37%
    Java 69 out of 109 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  54. This language is likely to be around for a very long time

    60% 40%
    Java 126 out of 208 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  55. I often get angry when writing code in this language

    60% 40%
    Java 59 out of 98 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  56. It is easy to tell at a glance what code in this language does

    58% 42%
    Java 142 out of 242 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  57. This language is good for numeric computing

    58% 42%
    Java 130 out of 222 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  58. This language makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot

    57% 43%
    Java 106 out of 183 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  59. This language has a very dogmatic community

    57% 43%
    Java 128 out of 222 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  60. This language allows me to write programs where I know exactly what they are doing under the hood

    57% 43%
    Java 143 out of 250 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  61. This language is likely to be a passing fad

    56% 44%
    Java 109 out of 193 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  62. The resources for learning this language are of high quality

    55% 45%
    Java 123 out of 221 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  63. I would use this language for writing programs for an embedded hardware platform

    55% 45%
    Java 108 out of 195 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  64. This language has a good community

    53% 47%
    Java 128 out of 238 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  65. This language excels at text processing

    53% 47%
    Java 123 out of 229 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  66. This language is good for scientific computing

    53% 47%
    Java 118 out of 221 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  67. I still discover new features of this language on a fairly regular basis

    52% 48%
    Java 107 out of 202 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  68. I can imagine this will be a popular language in twenty years time

    52% 48%
    Java 117 out of 222 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  69. I would use this language for writing embedded programs

    52% 48%
    Java 22 out of 42 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  70. This language matches it's problem domain particularly well.

    51% 49%
    Java 50 out of 98 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  71. Code written in this language tends to be very reliable

    50% 50%
    Java 121 out of 238 picked Java over Scheme Scheme

  72. This language encourages writing code that is easy to maintain.

    50% 50%
    Java 55 out of 110 each for Scheme and Java Scheme

  73. I usually use this language on solo projects

    49% 51%
    Java 129 out of 253 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  74. When I write code in this language I can be very sure it is correct

    48% 52%
    Java 121 out of 236 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  75. It's unusual for me to discover unfamiliar features

    47% 53%
    Java 117 out of 224 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  76. Code written in this language is very readable

    45% 55%
    Java 128 out of 234 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  77. I would use this language to write a command-line app

    43% 57%
    Java 139 out of 246 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  78. It is too easy to write code in this language that looks like it does one thing but actually does something else

    43% 57%
    Java 118 out of 208 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  79. I use this language out of choice

    38% 62%
    Java 145 out of 237 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  80. I often write things in this language with the intent of rewriting them in something else later

    38% 62%
    Java 103 out of 168 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  81. This language has a niche outside of which I would not use it

    38% 62%
    Java 140 out of 226 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  82. This language is likely to have a strong influence on future languages

    37% 63%
    Java 147 out of 236 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  83. If this language didn't exist, I would have trouble finding a satisfactory replacement

    37% 63%
    Java 125 out of 199 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  84. This language is easier to use for it's problem domain by removing unneeded expressiveness (such as not being Turing complete).

    36% 64%
    Java 37 out of 58 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  85. This language has a niche in which it is great

    34% 66%
    Java 150 out of 228 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  86. This language is well suited for an agile development approach using short iterations.

    33% 67%
    Java 55 out of 83 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  87. I find this language easy to prototype in

    31% 69%
    Java 169 out of 248 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  88. I would recommend most programmers learn this language, regardless of whether they have a specific need for it

    31% 69%
    Java 80 out of 117 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  89. I rarely have difficulty abstracting patterns I find in my code

    30% 70%
    Java 164 out of 237 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  90. Learning this language significantly changed how I use other languages.

    28% 72%
    Java 88 out of 123 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  91. I enjoy using this language

    28% 72%
    Java 192 out of 268 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  92. I would use this language for casual scripting

    25% 75%
    Java 171 out of 231 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  93. This language is good for beginners

    25% 75%
    Java 184 out of 248 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  94. I would like to write more of this language than I currently do

    24% 76%
    Java 188 out of 250 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  95. This is a high level language

    24% 76%
    Java 196 out of 260 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  96. I often feel like I am not smart enough to write this language

    22% 78%
    Java 64 out of 83 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  97. This language is very flexible

    22% 78%
    Java 198 out of 256 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  98. I enjoy playing with this language but would never use it for "real code"

    21% 79%
    Java 169 out of 215 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  99. Learning this language improved my ability as a programmer

    19% 81%
    Java 197 out of 246 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  100. This language would be good for teaching children to write software

    19% 81%
    Java 95 out of 118 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  101. This language is best for very small projects

    18% 82%
    Java 180 out of 222 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  102. This language has unusual features that I often miss when using other languages

    16% 84%
    Java 201 out of 242 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  103. This language is expressive

    16% 84%
    Java 219 out of 261 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  104. I find code written in this language very elegant

    14% 86%
    Java 229 out of 267 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  105. The semantics of this language are much different than other languages I know.

    13% 87%
    Java 88 out of 102 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  106. I would use this language as a scripting language embedded inside a larger application

    13% 87%
    Java 202 out of 233 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  107. This language has a very coherent design

    13% 87%
    Java 203 out of 234 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  108. This language excels at symbolic manipulation

    12% 88%
    Java 195 out of 224 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  109. Code written in this language tends to be terse

    11% 89%
    Java 208 out of 236 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  110. This language is built on a small core of orthogonal features

    11% 89%
    Java 177 out of 199 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

  111. This language is minimal

    8% 92%
    Java 210 out of 230 picked Scheme over Java Scheme

What's going on here?

The absolute rankings are interesting for large scale comparisons but when you want to know about two specific languages it's much more informative to look at how the two fare when they go directly head to head.

Here are all the statements which we've got enough comparisons between Java and Scheme to be meaningful and which of the two our users picked.

The order in which we're presenting them is a little arbitrary (sorry), but we've tried to put the things which they're both good at first so as to give you the most interesting picture of it.