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clang VS Emscripten

Compare clang VS Emscripten and see what are their differences

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clang logo clang

C, C++, Objective C and Objective C++ front-end for the LLVM compiler.

Emscripten logo Emscripten

Emscripten is an LLVM to JavaScript compiler.
  • clang Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-01
  • Emscripten Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-02

clang features and specs

  • High Performance
    Clang is known for its fast compilation time and efficient use of memory, which makes it ideal for large projects that require frequent builds.
  • Modular Design
    The modular design of Clang allows developers to easily integrate it with other tools and projects. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for custom compilers and IDEs.
  • Expressive Diagnostics
    Clang provides highly detailed and easy-to-understand error and warning messages, which help developers quickly identify and fix coding issues.
  • LLVM Infrastructure
    Being a part of the LLVM project, Clang benefits from a robust and active community. It gets frequent updates and improvements, keeping it at the forefront of compiler technology.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Clang supports multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This makes it a versatile choice for cross-platform development projects.

Possible disadvantages of clang

  • Limited Legacy Support
    Clang may not support some older or obscure language extensions that other compilers, like GCC, might handle. This can be an issue when working with legacy codebases.
  • Evolving Ecosystem
    As part of a rapidly evolving ecosystem, Clang can introduce breaking changes or deprecations that require developers to frequently update their code.
  • Resource Intensive
    Although Clang is efficient, the compilation of very large codebases might require significant system resources, potentially straining less powerful systems.
  • Less Mature in Certain Areas
    Compared to GCC, Clang can be less mature in handling certain language features or optimizations, especially in newer or less common use cases.

Emscripten features and specs

  • Cross-platform compatibility
    Emscripten enables developers to compile C and C++ code to WebAssembly or JavaScript, allowing the same codebase to run on multiple platforms, such as browsers and node.js, without needing additional platform-specific adaptations.
  • Leverage existing libraries
    Developers can utilize a vast ecosystem of existing C and C++ libraries by compiling them for the web, saving time and resources required for rewriting or finding alternatives developed in JavaScript.
  • Performance optimization
    Emscripten's compilation to WebAssembly provides near-native performance for web applications, making it suitable for compute-intensive tasks like gaming, simulations, and data processing.
  • Familiar toolchain
    Developers can use familiar tools like CMake and others as part of their Emscripten workflow, making it easier for those with C/C++ backgrounds to adapt and integrate into their web development processes.

Possible disadvantages of Emscripten

  • Steep learning curve
    Developers unfamiliar with C and C++ may find Emscripten challenging to use effectively, as it requires knowledge of these languages and their build systems to create and debug applications.
  • Limitations in browser environments
    Certain features of C/C++ may not translate directly to web environments due to browser sandboxing constraints, leading to potential issues with file I/O, threading, and other system-level operations.
  • Code size
    Compiled WebAssembly and JavaScript code can sometimes be large, potentially affecting load times and performance, especially on lower-end devices with restrictive bandwidth or processing capabilities.
  • Debugging complexity
    Debugging WebAssembly code can be more complex than traditional JavaScript, requiring specialized tooling and techniques to trace and fix issues effectively.

clang videos

+ Add

Use Clang on Windows, Linux, and macOS

More videos:

  • Review - The Clang Swordsman
  • Review - CLANG AND BANG: BI'S AND TRI'S FOR DAYS!

Emscripten videos

+ Add

Monster Madness Online (Emscripten Web Technology Overview)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to clang and Emscripten)

clang

Emscripten

IDE
51 51%
IDE
49% 49
Email Marketing
41 41%
Email Marketing
59% 59
Text Editors
50 50%
Text Editors
50% 50
Code Analysis
100 100%
Code Analysis
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Emscripten should be more popular than clang. It has been mentiond 47 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

clang mentions (14)

  • Attributes in C23 and C++
    Prior to C23 or C++11, the only way to attach attributes was using compiler-specific syntax such as __attribute__ for gcc and clang, or __declspec for MSVC. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • dotnet cross-platform interop with C via Environment.ProcessId system call
    I want to compile C program for various operating systems from one machine, that's why on macOS M1 I use zig drop-in replacement compiler (can be used on Linux, Windows too) for cross-platform compilation. There are also clang, gcc (usually pre-installed on macOS and Linux). For Windows there are Visual Studio installer or mingw (which installs gcc). - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • S2S Compilers: Understanding Switch Case Statements
    If you are turning your source code into languages such as C or C++, it is required to have great understanding and knowledge of C/C++. Since these languages also have compilers be it GNU Compiler Collection or Clang, we have to do a lot of digging and researching around their features and functionalities. There is a lot of benefit in that once the target codebase grows and developers start reusing the target... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Ready to miss a semi colon and spend the next hour stressing over what went wrong?
    Clang is an LLVM based C compiler that "allows better diagnostics, better integration with IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain," compared to other options. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Alternatives of MinGW for MacOS
    VS Code is not an IDE. It's simply an editor without any built-in compiler tools. So you MUST use "other compiler" (and bintools) anyway. As I said, Apple's official C/C++ compiler is LLVM-Clang, which offers even better optimization in some tasks. Source: about 3 years ago
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Emscripten mentions (47)

  • Ask HN: Qt style "Signals and Slots" based JavaScript UI library?
    The first thing that comes to mind is that Qt now has a WebAssembly port[1] using Emscripten[2], so depending on your use-case, you could possibly just run Qt on the Web platform and avoid the need for a JavaScript framework entirely. [1]: https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/wasm.html [2]: https://emscripten.org. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Ask HN: Resources for Learning Graphics Programming
    Me and a friend build our own Graphics engines based on https://learnopengl.com I can highly recommend this to everyone who gets started with computer graphics. It is a lot of new information but not the most modern Graphics library, but the information will help you understand the field and pickup any other graphics library quicker. Once I had a small project up and running I started looking at... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Software Applications Incorporated
    Https://infinitemac.org, which is https://basilisk.cebix.net compiled for the web using https://emscripten.org. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • How does one get started with unit testing?
    One place that I’ve found some real, open source unit tests to look at for an example is in the emsdk for emscripten: https://emscripten.org. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Playing with low-level memory in WebAssembly
    I am playing around with Emscipten which wraps around clang to compile C/C++ code in WASM binary and provide some glue-code API to embed WASM binary into JavaScript. Look into MDN Docs and Emscripten SDK to get started. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing clang and Emscripten, you can also consider the following products

GNU Compiler Collection - The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting...

LLVM - LLVM is a compiler infrastructure designed for compile-time, link-time, run-time, and...

PyCharm - Python & Django IDE with intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error checking, quick-fixes, and much more...

Portable C Compiler - pcc is a C99 compiler which aims to be small, simple, fast and understandable.

SonarQube - SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code.

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

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