It seems as if Java was built to keep a developer from shooting himself in the foot. It seems as if C# was built to give the developer a gun but leave the safety turned on. And it seems as if when C++ was built, they just handed the programmer a fully loaded bazooka with an open-ended license to use it. C# can be as harmless as Java using safe code, but can be as dangerous as C++ by clicking off that safety in unsafe mode—you get to decide. With Java, it seems as if the most damage that you can do is maybe spray yourself in the eye with the squirt gun that it hands you. But that's the way that the Java architects wanted it, most likely. And the C# designers probably wanted to build a new language that could persuade C++ developers, who often want ultimate firepower and control, to buy into it.