[euhlmann]

Disclaimer: my team is switching from C++ to Java this year

C++
Pros

• Fast (It's native)
• It allows you to do almost anything. For example, casting and copying data in ways Java doesn't allow

Cons

• It allows you to do almost anything. Which is bad sometimes (use smart pointers!)
• For FRC specifically, the compiler is unusually slow. Large projects can take several minutes to build
• To display errors, Eclipse basically parses compiler output. It sometimes doesn't work too well
• Exceptions aren't as sophisticated as in Java. Also I often think the creators of the standard library put making it beautiful C++ before making it actually usable to new programmers. It's beautiful C++ that I don't entirely understand. Luckily in FRC, you don't need to use the standard library a lot
• Debugging in eclipse is basically a GUI wrapper over GDB (a console program). It can be problematic sometimes

Java
Pros:

• Safer. It's more restrictive, but it has the advantage that the compiler will catch most problems for you (as opposed to C++ where you'll just get a random segfault)
• Simple standard library. And you can actually understand the source of most of it, unlike STL which is basically line noise that happens to be valid C++
• Less file spam. No need for header files, or dealing with cyclic dependencies since the compiler handles it all for you
• Compiling is fully integrated into Eclipse. It compiles as you write, and gives you instant feedback on errors. In C++, you have to explicitly use the build button before it displays most errors.
• Debugging is fully integrated into Eclipse, and it's awesome (SE even supports limited code hotswapping. I'm going to test if hotswapping works on ME at some point)

Cons:

• May be slower (it's interpreted / JIT compiled)
• It's more restrictive than C++, so some C++ may be necessary for performance hacks (eg, link in C++ pros above)