Java. Joke? (original) (raw)

First, I've taken a semester of C++ programming before.

In my university computer science class (101), they teach Java.

Now, since all the Java applications I've used have been slow and buggy (i.e. LimeWire, to name one, but also Java applets), I'm biased against Java programming. However, I was willing to give it a try and learn something.

When it comes to programming, I'm pretty proficient, but when we were assigned to develop a cash register program for class, the floating-point inaccuracies of Java got so ridiculous that, with all double identifiers, 1.00 - 0.99 = 0.00.

Considering that such a function is a simple subtraction problem and that Java's execution of that problem is flawed, I'd seriously like to know why Java even exists. Basically what I'm saying is that since Java can't even subtract correctly, why should anyone take it seriously?