Differences Between the CLR and JVM

This is a quick reference to differences between the CLR and JVM. It also bleeds into differences between C# and Java whose features often include compiler-level-only features that the underlying VirtualMachine is not cognizant of.

CLR has…

• CLR has unsigned types
• CLR has namespaces
• CLR has explicit interface implementations
• CLR allows non-overridding methods when the same signature (called 'new')
• CLR has value types
• CLR has non-virtual methods (I don't think JVM does)
• CLR has events
• CLR has out and ref parameters
• C# has partial classes
• C# has closures
• C# has yield
• C# can have multiple classes in a single file

JVM has …

• JVM has no generic types. This is purely at the compiler level. I've read that you cannot overload a method by a generic type such as List<of int> vs. List<of String>.
• Java has exception specification on the method level.
• Java has non-static inner classes

Other Differences

• assemblies vs. jars

References

•  http://stackoverflow.com/questions/95163/differences-between-msil-and-java-bytecode
•  http://stackoverflow.com/questions/682608/implementing-c-sharp-for-the-jvm
•  http://stackoverflow.com/questions/59175/whats-the-difference-between-the-inner-workings-of-javas-jvm-and-nets-clr
•  http://www.artima.com/intv/anders.html