Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Poica – Algebraic data types and type introspection for pure C

Contribute to hirrolot/poica development by creating an account on GitHub.

Poica is a C library that brings algebraic data types and type introspection capabilities to pure C programming. It enables developers to work with advanced type systems typically found in functional languages while… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Poica – Algebraic data types and type introspection for pure C launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   libcodr7 – fundamental collections in the spirit of C▲67

   fundamental tools in the spirit of C. Contribute to codr7/libcodr7 development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Introducting C+▲148

   2012 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   I built a web framework in C▲420

   a lightweight web framework in c. Contribute to ashtonjamesd/lavandula development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Sum (algebraic) types for C in one 100 line header▲92

   A mirror of https://git.sr.ht/~grego/sumtypes.h. Contribute to grego/sumtype.h development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   A simple garbage collector for C▲192

   Simple, zero-dependency garbage collection for C. Contribute to mkirchner/gc development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

6. 6MB
   Monocle – bidirectional code generation library▲148

   I just published a bidirectional code generation library. Afaik it's the first of its kind, and it opens up a lot of possibilities for cool new types of dev tools. The PoC is for ruby, but the concept is very portable. https://blog.luitjes.it/posts/monocle-bidirectional-code-gen...

   2022 · its alternatives →

7. 7CL
   C library of generic, reference-counted data structures▲91

   2013 · theck01.github.io · its alternatives →

8. 8GI
   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 →

9. 9
   Prometeo – a Python-to-C transpiler for high-performance computing▲166

   An experimental Python-to-C transpiler and domain specific language for embedded high-performance computing - zanellia/prometeo

   2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Bic – a C interpreter and API explorer▲181

    A C interpreter and API explorer. Contribute to hexagonal-sun/bic development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Python library for functional programming▲129

    Python library for creating data pipelines with chain functional programming - EntilZha/PyFunctional

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Lisp with copying GC in 537 lines of C (plus Lisp 1.5 on top)▲152

    Moved to Forgejo! Contribute to krig/LISP development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Minimal freestanding C runtime for bare-metal/embedded PC projects▲97

    minimal freestanding C library for bare-metal i386 development - marssaxman/startc

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Kent Dybvig's Scheme Machine in 400 Lines of C (Heap-Memory Model)▲226

    Heap based scheme machine. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

    2025 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Compile Ruby to C▲153

    Compile ruby functions to C. Contribute to agrafix/rubyspeed development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16EI
    Easy intro book to Clojure and immutability▲148

    2019 · getprogrammingwithclojure.com · its alternatives →

17. 17IB
    I built a minimal Forth-like stack interpreter library in C▲47

    This weekend I created stacklib.h - a single-header library that brings Forth-style stack operations to C. It implements a basic interpreter with: - Stack operations (push/pop/dup/swap/over/drop) - Arithmetic (+, -, *, /) - Output (., emit, cr) - Stack inspection (.s, depth) Example usage: Stack s; stack_init(&s); dict_init(); exec(&s, "10 20 + ."); // Prints "30" exec(&s, "1 2 3 4 .s"); // Shows stack contents The library is self-contained, requires no dependencies, and handles basic error checking. It was inspired by wanting to understand…

    2025 · its alternatives →

18. 18
    A Y Combinator for Objective-C▲97

    A Y-Combinator for Objective-C. Contribute to jballanc/objc-ycomb development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2011 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    A work-in-progress C compiler from scratch▲159

    Programming language that compiles into a x86 ELF executable. - riicchhaarrd/ocean

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    An expression parser supporting multiple types▲33

    This C library is part of a main project aimed at providing a reactive key-value (KV) database. The data is typed (numbers, strings, dates, or booleans) and can include formulas with references to other entries. Clients connected to this database receive a real-time data stream with updates to the subscribed keys, allowing them to react to changes and their dependencies. Essentially, it’s like building a distributed Excel, where data and formulas dynamically update across the system. I couldn’t find any libraries that offered the full set of features I needed for evaluating expressions, so I…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    The C3 programming language (C alternative language)▲175

    Get it from here: https://github.com/c3lang/c3c In 2019, while contributing to the C2 language, I started up "C3" as a pet project while waiting for pull requests to be approved... Now it's 6 years later and C3 well on its way to 1.0, having released 0.7.0 last week. Unlike other C alternatives, C3 tries to evolve C – but without concern to backwards compatibility to the latter. What it adds to C is among other things: - Module system - Semantic macros and compile time introspection - Lightweight generic modules - Zero overhead errors - Build-in slices and SIMD types -…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    A portable hash map in C▲176

    A small, portable, linear probing hash map. Contribute to e-dant/salmagundi development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Simple virtual machine, assembler, and C compiler▲99

    simple virtual machine and assembler. Contribute to ronsoros/rvm development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    ShivyC – Hobby C compiler created in Python▲120

    C compiler created in Python. Contribute to ShivamSarodia/ShivyC development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · 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 →