C++ vs. Java (speed considerations only)

[Todd]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Java has a lot more overhead than C++.

I don't think the argument is that Java or Labview has less overhead than C++, rather that in (nearly all) applications that are relevant at all to FIRST, the overhead is simply irrelevant.

With the singular possible exception of vision processing, where the argument could be made that realtime performance of a control system based on vision processing is not necessarily drastically impacted by the performance gains presented by vision processing software, it just doesn't matter.

I'd add PID loops to the list, but in most FIRST applications the effectiveness of your PID loop is probably bottlenecked before you encounter processing speed issues, either by I/O or low feedback resolution or frequency.

The likelihood that performance issues will be introduced by a team simply because they aren't as familiar with a different language set drastically outweigh the actual performance differences between the three languages, bringing me back to if performance is what you care about, then stick to the language your team feels most comfortable with, and don't forget that you can realistically (and simply) export almost any processing that can deal with ethernet latency and bandwidth restrictions to the dashboard, and then out to be processed on any language, with any framework, with almost any hardware you want on your driver station machine.

That said, there's a reason why all three are used widely in different industries, and I strongly encourage anyone who's interested to learn all three and make their own decisions.