Java is a high-level programming language that was developed by James Gosling in the year 1982. It is based on the principles of object-oriented programming and can be used to develop large-scale applications.

Java language was developed so that it does not depend on any hardware or software because the compiler compiles the code and then converts it to platform-independent byte code which can be run on multiple systems.

Java supports primitive data types - byte, boolean, char, short, int, float, long, and double and hence it is not a pure object oriented language.

• C++ is only a  compiled language, whereas Java is compiled as well as an interpreted language.
• Java programs are machine-independent whereas a c++ program can run only in the machine in which it is compiled. 
• C++ allows users to use pointers in the program. Whereas java doesn’t allow it. Java internally uses pointers. 
• C++ supports the concept of Multiple inheritances whereas Java doesn't support this. And it is due to avoiding the complexity of name ambiguity that causes the diamond problem.

Pointers are quite complicated and unsafe to use by beginner programmers. Java focuses on code simplicity, and the usage of pointers can make it challenging. Pointer utilization can also cause potential errors. Moreover, security is also compromised if pointers are used because the users can directly access memory with the help of pointers.

Thus, a certain level of abstraction is furnished by not including pointers in Java. Moreover, the usage of pointers can make the procedure of garbage collection quite slow and erroneous. Java makes use of references as these cannot be manipulated, unlike pointers.