Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

This blog post series introduces C++ developers to Qt, the cross-platform application framework. It covers fundamental concepts and the essential knowledge needed to build applications, addressing what Qt is, core… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Crash course in Qt for C++ developers – a blog post series launched in 2018; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   I built a small browser engine from scratch in C++▲146

   Hi HN! Korean high school senior here, about to start CS in college. I built a browser engine from scratch in C++ to understand how browsers work. First time using C++, 8 weeks of development, lots of debugging—but it works! Features: - HTML parsing with error correction - CSS cascade and inheritance - Block/inline layout engine - Async image loading + caching - Link navigation + history Hardest parts: - String parsing(html, css) - Rendering - Image Caching & Layout Reflowing What I learned (beyond code): - Systematic debugging is crucial - Ship with known bugs rather than chase…

   Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   I'm doing a video series about building a C++ IDE from scratch▲23

   2019 · youtube.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   GitPodcast▲308

   Understanding any GitHub repository is tough, especially a big one - this project aims to make it a tad bit easier by giving the listener a primer + some details on the specific repository. For some people (like me) - audio/visual medium is more easily understandable. So, I hope this project is helpful to some of them. This project was inspired by https://gitdiagram.com - so check it out as well, and maybe use them together for better understanding. Future plans: 1. To add more voices and let users choose most natural one (decide between OpenAI/Microsoft Speech) 2. Custom…

   2025 · gitpodcast.com · its alternatives →

4. 4IW
   I wrote a technical history book on Lisp▲252

   The book page links to a blog post that explains how I got about it (and has a link to sample content), but the TL&DR is that I could not find a lot of books that were on "our" history _and_ were larded with technical details. So I set about writing one, and some five years later I'm happy to share the result. I think it's one of the few "computer history" books that has tons of code, but correct me if I'm wrong (I wrote this both to tell a story and to learn :-)). My favorite languages are Smalltalk and Lisp, but as an Emacs user, I've been using the latter for much longer and for my…

   Feb 2026 · berksoft.ca · its alternatives →

5. 5
   LeanCreator – a stripped-down QtCreator for C/C++, LeanQt and BUSY▲111

   LeanCreator is a stripped-down version of Qt Creator, easy to build from source on all platforms supported by LeanQt and using BUSY instead of qmake. - rochus-keller/LeanCreator

   2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6MP
   My platforming game written in C 89▲127

   I have been working on this game somewhat sparsely for the past three years or so. However, it is still in a very early stage, and there is a lot of work to do. One of my friends encouraged me to post about it here, since he felt people might find interesting how I don’t use any libraries for it. The game can be played on a browser by virtue of WebAssembly. There are native ports using either MiniFB or SDL2, but you have to build those yourself. I decided to write the game in C because I feel like it is a simple language that a lot of people can understand well enough, and I didn’t think I…

   2023 · zamfofex.neocities.org · its alternatives →

7. 7
   World of C++▲76

   Develop your programming skills or start your coding journey

   2021 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   I made a website that converts YT videos into step-by-step guides▲271

   Hey HN, I've been working on this side project for the past month. It generates a step-by-step tutorial guide for YouTube videos that you can follow along without watching long videos. Best suited for tutorial videos but can work for other videos aswell. No BS. Just straight to the point. The guides are generated from pure transcript so you don't have to worry about it being AI. It's my first project as a total beginner. Something I had to do inorder to get out of tutorial hell. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or if you face any problems or bugs. I would try to fix them to the…

   2024 · stepify.tech · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Build your own programming language in C++▲94

   A minimal viable programming language on top of liblgpp - codr7/alang

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    GitQuest▲187

    Hey HN, I built Git Quest, it reads your public GitHub history and turns it into an idle RPG character. How it works: - Your most-used language determines your class (TypeScript → Paladin, Python → Sage, etc.) - Commits generate Power and XP - Your character auto-battles dungeons while you code – no active play needed - Enemies drop loot across 5 rarity tiers - Live leaderboard ranks developers It only reads public GitHub data. I built it because I wanted something that rewards coding consistency without being another "streak" tracker. The idle mechanic means prolific coders naturally…

    2025 · gitquest.dev · its alternatives →

11. 11
    A hash array-mapped trie implementation in C▲171

    Long-simmering side project that is finally ready to see the light. HAMTs are a cool persistent data structure and implementing one has been a lot of fun. Beyond the code, there is likely some value in the extensive and largely complete implementation docs; basic benchmarks are linked in the README, too. Kind of aiming to be "the libavl for HAMTs". That is obviously a high and aspirational bar but a distinct possibility if it stirs up a little interest and/or contribution. Anyways, it's time for this to go out, collect feedback and maybe even some use outside of toy projects. Let me…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    JSON Query▲152

    On a recent screen share with our designer at my FT job, I watched as our designer struggled with checking out a repository. It was painful because existing Git clients are confusing and nearly user hostile. Us software engineers are used to Git and terrible UX, but it shouldn't have to be that way. So, I wanted to make something better. Been working on this one for a while now, and while it's still very early stages, it's stable enough that I feel comfortable sharing it with the world :) I wanted a few things to be really easy and clear: - Merging between branches is explained before you do…

    2015 · satishmaha.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    GitGuessr▲98

    I built this game as a playful way to train code reading skills. You're dropped into a random location in a real GitHub repo where some lines code are hidden. The goal is to pick up clues from the surrounding code and fill in the missing lines as quickly as possible. It currently has curated game content for Python, TypeScript, JavaScript (by most metrics the top 3 languages on GitHub). I had the idea when it dawned on me that reviewing and understanding code spat out by an LLM is a key skill for the AI era. (I sincerely hope you're critically reviewing what your favorite LLM is serving…

    Feb 2026 · gitguessr.com · its alternatives →

14. 14GI
    Going into freshman year, figured I should build an interpreter▲138

    Hi all! I'm going into my freshman year, and figured that the best way to prepare for the intro to programming Racket course would be to implement my own garbage-collected, dynamically typed, functional programming language in C ;) Anyways... here's the repo: https://github.com/liam-ilan/crumb I started learning C over the summer, so I still have a whole lot to learn... Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! :D

    2023 · its alternatives →

15. 15
    GitCity▲113

    GitCity transforms your GitHub contribution history into an interactive isometric 3D city skyline. Every commit builds a skyscraper. Free, open-source, embeddable in any README.

    Apr 2026 · gitcity.natrajx.in · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Introducting C+▲148

    2012 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Codecademy's Learn C++▲120

    Learn one of the most powerful languages in the world! 👾

    2018 · codecademy.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Online C/C++ Code Browser▲72

    Codebrowser homepage

    2016 · code.woboq.org · its alternatives →

19. 19
    From a “hello world” project to a complex messenger▲88

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    My C# Tutorial Series: Coding Basics. How am I doing so far?▲41

    Part 3 of my tutorial series on learning C# .Net, a thorough look at the language and .Net Framework.

    2012 · jeremymorgan.com · its alternatives →

21. 21LP
    Learning Project: building an imperative language▲36

    Hi! I am doing a learning project, attempting to build an imperative language (and interpreter). The end product will be useless for others, I just want to learn and better understand how to build imperative languages. :) If someone else shares this interest and want to give some good hints on good resources I would be grateful. Currently I am looking at an awesome text by Bob Nystrom. All suggestions and tips on resources are most welcome. I am very much a beginner in this, but I find this topic very fascinating. Mail me or post links here! Cheers! You can try a beta version Online at…

    2020 · its alternatives →

22. 22AI
    Anyone interested in a tool helps to explore C++ ASTs▲49

    I built this software to help users who need to do static code analysis for C/C++ codebase. This can help you to explore the ASTs interactively. It can replace the Clang ast dump completely and also you can search the code/ASTs in a structual way. For example you can search a function which matches specific name or number of paremeters.

    May 2026 · uvic-aurora.github.io · its alternatives →

23. 23HN
    Hacker News Git Blame▲66

    One night I was deep in a rabbit hole, reading old HN comments. I eventually ended up scraping a bunch of usernames and building a game! Please suggest any other users who you'd want to see/upstanding members of the community who deserve to be featured.

    2023 · hngitblame.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    A C++ web/application framework I have been building for the last 12yrs▲29

    Back then there were not a lot of frameworks for C++ like there are available now, gradually added serialization, reflection, orm, modules for apache|nginx, then started adding programming language integration and then finally added support for building on various Os'es and also support for most of the build tools out there.

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →