nowfound

Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The C3 programming language (C alternative language)

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 -…

C3 is a programming language that evolves C without maintaining backward compatibility. It adds a module system, semantic macros, compile-time introspection, lightweight generics, zero-overhead error handling, built-in… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1CA

    Compiler link: https://github.com/c3lang/c3c Docs: http://www.c3-lang.org This is my follow-up "Show HN" from roughly a year ago (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27876570). Since then the language design has evolved and the compiler has gotten much more solid. Assorted extra info: - The C3 name is a homage to the C2 language project (http://c2lang.org) which it was originally inspired by. - Although C3 mostly conforms to C syntax, the most obvious change is requiring `fn` in front of the functions. This is to simplify searching for…

    2022 · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Compiler for the C3 language. Contribute to c3lang/c3c development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3LC

    I made a simple virtual machine that runs C in the browser.This project is made as an experiment to see if C can be learned easier if the lower level is covered in paralel. Sandbox: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting Tutorial part 1: https://vasyop.github.io/miniC-hosting/?0 More info: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/README.md Please support this project: https://github.com/vasyop/miniC-hosting/blob/master/support.md

    2019 · its alternatives →

  4. 4

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

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    2012 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Learn the foundations to be a full stack software engineer. 100% free.

    2020 · c0d3.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7GI

    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 →

  8. 8TC

    C3, "The C-like for people who like C" just reached v0.5, marking its feature-stable release: https://c3.handmade.network/blog/p/8824-say_hello_to_c3_0.5 Feature stability ensures that version 0.5 will undergo bug fixes and maintenance separately from the main branch, providing projects with a stable compiler version to work with. Try it out in the browser https://learn-c3.org Github: https://github.com/c3lang/c3c If you appreciate C, then maybe this is a language you'll enjoy. Dive into the documentation at https://c3-lang.org…

    2023 · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    C to Go Assembly. Contribute to minio/c2goasm development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

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

    2018 · codecademy.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

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

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    I love C and C++, but setting up projects can sometimes be a pain. Every time I wanted to start something new I'd spend the first hour writing CMakeLists.txt, figuring out find_package, copying boilerplate from my last project, and googling why my library isn't linking. By the time the project was actually set up I'd lost all momentum. So, I built Craft - a lightweight build and workflow tool for C and C++. Instead of writing CMake, your project configuration goes in a simple craft.toml: [project] name = "my_app" version = "0.1.0" language = "c" c_standard = 99 [build] type = "executable"…

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13CP
  14. 14

    Seven modules teaching C the way safety-critical systems are actually built: MATH → STRUCT → CODE → TEST. Each module answers one question: Does it exist? (Pulse), Is it normal? (Baseline), Is it regular? (Timing), Is it trending? (Drift), Which sensor to trust? (Consensus), How to handle overflow? (Pressure), What do we do about it? (Mode). Every module is closed (no dependencies), total (handles all inputs), deterministic, and O(1). 83 tests passing. Built this after 30 years in UNIX systems. Wanted something that teaches the rigour behind certified systems without requiring a decade of…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    rcor C compiler (under development). Contribute to rcorcs/rcc development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

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

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    A convenient C string API, friendly alongside classic C strings.

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Modified C++ Inspired by the paper "Some Were Meant for C" by Stephen Kell, I decided to show that it's possible to iterate C++ to be safer, more explicit, and less error-prone. Here's a possible starting point: I didn't invent a new language or compiler, but took the world's best compiler, clang, and modified it to begin iterating towards a new furture of C++. Naming things is hard, so I call this 'Modified C++'. Some of the following could be implemented as tooling in a linter or checker, but the idea is to update the compiler directly. I also wanted to learn more about clang. This…

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    A modular web framework for C, inspired by kernel modules. Dynamically upload and compile C code at runtime to build REST APIs, WebSocket services, and more. Includes support for JSON (Jansson), SQLite, OpenSSL, and streaming large data efficiently. - joexbayer/c-web-modules

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    I wrote a lightweight scripting language that runs together with C. Specifically, it's a C library, you run it through a C function call, and it can callback your own C functions. Compiles to ~250 kB. No dependencies beyond the C standard library. Key language features: * Uses aliases not pointers, so it's memory-safe * Arrays are N-dimensional and resizable * Runs scripts or its own 'shell' * Error trapping * Methods, inheritance, etc. * Customizable syntax

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21MP

    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 →

  22. 22

    We’ve reached a major milestone in making any software run with WebAssembly. Thanks to the newest release of Wasmer (4.4) and the Wasmer JS SDK (0.8.0) ...

    2024 · wasmer.io · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Next-level syntax for C-like languages :). Contribute to kiselgra/c-mera development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    r3 programing language - ColorForth inspired. Contribute to phreda4/r3 development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

Also compare

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 →