Here we present a sample comparison of assembly-level language (the low end of the extreme) and Java (the high end of the extreme).

Assembler Java
Application Requirements Poorly suited Well suited
Platform OK OK
Development Time Poor Very good
Portability Non-existant Very good
Popularity Poor Good
Economic Poor Good
Tool Quality OK OK
Readability Poor Very good
Simplicity/Level of Abstraction Poor Very good
Compilation Speed Very good OK
Runtime Efficiency Very good Poor
Library Support Depends on tool OK
Debugging Help Depends on tool used Depends on tool used
Language Safety Nonexistant Very good
Longevity Very good Uncertain - new language

Scale for comparisons:

Nonexistant -> Poor -> OK -> Good-> Very good

References

The Java Language Environment White Paper, James Gosling & Henry McGilton, May 1996,
      http://www.javasoft.com/docs/white/langenv/.