Rust and Java differ primarily in memory management, concurrency models, and compilation targets. Rust uses a compile-time ownership system to guarantee memory safety without a garbage collector, while Java relies on a runtime garbage collector and the JVM for portability. Use Rust for systems programming requiring low-level control and Java for enterprise applications prioritizing rapid development and ecosystem maturity.
// Rust: No GC, explicit ownership
fn main() {
let s = String::from("hello");
// s is dropped here automatically
}
// Java: GC managed, implicit references
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "hello";
// GC reclaims memory later
}
}