Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

clang VS Tiny C Compiler

Compare clang VS Tiny C Compiler and see what are their differences

clang logo clang

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

Tiny C Compiler logo Tiny C Compiler

The Tiny C Compiler is an x86, x86-64 and ARM processor C compiler created by Fabrice Bellard.
  • clang Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-01
  • Tiny C Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-06

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.

Tiny C Compiler features and specs

  • Fast Compilation
    Tiny C Compiler (TCC) is known for its incredibly fast compilation speed, which makes it ideal for quick compilations and testing.
  • Small Size
    TCC has a very small footprint compared to other compilers, making it easy to include in applications and use in environments with limited resources.
  • C99 Support
    TCC provides support for the C99 standard, allowing the use of newer C language features.
  • Dynamic Code Generation
    TCC can compile and execute code dynamically, which can be useful for scripting or embedded contexts.
  • Simplified Licensing
    Under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), TCC can be more easily used in various projects, including proprietary ones, compared to compilers with more restrictive licenses.

Possible disadvantages of Tiny C Compiler

  • Limited Optimization
    TCC does not perform extensive optimization, which can result in less efficient executable code compared to compilers like GCC or Clang.
  • Incomplete C Standard Library
    TCC's standard C library implementation is not as complete as those of more established compilers, which might lead to compatibility issues.
  • Lack of Detailed Documentation
    Users may find the available documentation lacking in detail, which can hinder learning and debugging for complex projects.
  • Limited Platform Support
    TCC is primarily designed for smaller-scale applications and lacks some platform-specific and cross-compilation capabilities.
  • Fewer Community Resources
    Compared to major compilers like GCC or Clang, TCC has a smaller user community, which can mean fewer tutorials, forums, and third-party support tools.

clang videos

Use Clang on Windows, Linux, and macOS

More videos:

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

Tiny C Compiler videos

No Tiny C Compiler videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to clang and Tiny C Compiler)
IDE
47 47%
53% 53
Text Editors
49 49%
51% 51
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100
Email Marketing
48 48%
52% 52

User comments

Share your experience with using clang and Tiny C Compiler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Tiny C Compiler should be more popular than clang. It has been mentiond 35 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 (13)

  • 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 / about 1 month 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 / about 1 month 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: over 2 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: over 2 years ago
  • What is the point of free and open source software?
    One illustration of this came in 2015 when Stallman decided he Would rather prevent the Gnu Compiler Collection from supporting modern IDE features like symbol completion, than allow GCC front ends to be paired with free-but-not-copyleft backends like LLVM and Clang: "Since LLVM and Clang are not copylefted, they invite nonfree extensions. They are a gaping hole in the defensive wall around our city." Allowing... - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
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Tiny C Compiler mentions (35)

  • Weird Lexical Syntax
    > I'm not sure who wants to be able to syntax highlight C at 35 MB per second, but I am now able to do so Fast, but tcc *compiles* C to binary code at 29 MB/s on a really old computer: https://bellard.org/tcc/#speed. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Pnut: A C to POSIX Shell Compiler you can Trust
    "Because Pnut can be distributed as a human-readable shell script (`pnut.sh`), it can serve as the basis for a reproducible build system. With a POSIX compliant shell, `pnut.sh` is sufficiently powerful to compile itself and, with some effort, [TCC](https://bellard.org/tcc/). Because TCC can be used to bootstrap GCC, this makes it possible to bootstrap a fully featured build toolchain from only human-readable... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Cwerg: C-like language that can be implemented in 10kLOC
    For what it's worth you can implement a C compiler in under 10kLOC. The chibi C compiler is only a few thousand lines [1]. There is also Cake [2] and the tiny C compiler [3] which are both relatively small. [1] https://github.com/rui314/chibicc [3] https://bellard.org/tcc/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Exploring the Internals of Linux v0.01
    I was going to say, the list should include something by Fabrice Bellard. Tiny C Compiler is one. https://bellard.org/tcc/ I was thinking, maybe first version/commit of QEMU would be interesting to read. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • The C Interpreter: A Tutorial for Cin
    I occasionally use tcc (https://bellard.org/tcc/) like an interpreter (`tcc -run`), it's convenient for certain odd tasks. Not so much for interactive stuff, but if I'm building little PoCs for an idea that will get dropped into a C project, or fiddling with structs work out how something should/is being stored, or in situations where I'm making stuff that interacts with or examples based on C code and I want to... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing clang and Tiny C Compiler, 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...

NASM - The Netwide Assembler, NASM, is an 80x86 and x86-64 assembler designed for portability and...

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.

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