Java: Java vs. C

Is Java easier or harder than C?

Java is harder because ...

Java is more powerful and can do much more than C. For example, C doesn't have a graphical user interface (GUI), and C doesn't have any way to do object-oriented programming (OOP). It's possible to write in Java in a C style, avoiding the new powerful features of Java. But that is foolish.
Java either checks for errors, or makes you check for errors. C lets you do many things that would cause errors (for example, convert strings to integers, or do I/O), but doesn't make you write code to handle the errors. Java makes you write try...catch statements around things that might cause problems.

Java is easier because ...

Java checks for errors. For example, Java checks subscripts to make sure they are in the correct range.
Java does things for you. There are a huge number of things that Java has already written for you. For example, expandable arrays, many data structures, etc. In C it would take a very long time to write and debug these things by yourself.
Java doesn't have the most dangerous things. The things in C which cause the most program errors are pointers, pointer arithmetic, and memory management. Java has replaced these with much, much safer things: references, subscription, and garbage collection.

The reason that everyone is very enthusiastic about Java is because it is easier (faster, cheaper, ...) to produce good programs.

From C++ to Java

If you know C or C++, you already know a lot of Java.

The Java language is based mostly on C and C++. You'll see that a lot of the basic language elements, for example, the primitive types, operators, and statements of Java are taken directly from C.

Primitive Java types are similar to C

Java includes types which are similar to those in C/C++ (char