Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

flat assembler VS Tiny C Compiler

Compare flat assembler VS Tiny C Compiler and see what are their differences

flat assembler logo flat assembler

A fast and efficient self-assembling x86 assembler for DOS, Windows and Linux.

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.
  • flat assembler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28
  • Tiny C Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-06

flat assembler features and specs

  • Size and Speed
    Flat Assembler (FASM) is known for its small size and fast execution, making it an excellent choice for developers looking for efficiency in both development and runtime.
  • Low-Level Control
    FASM provides developers with in-depth control over the hardware, allowing for optimization and manipulation at a granular level, which can be critical for performance-sensitive applications.
  • Cross-Platform Capabilities
    FASM supports multiple platforms, enabling developers to write assembly code that can be compiled on different operating systems without significant changes.
  • Integrated Assembler and IDE
    It comes with an integrated development environment that simplifies assembling and linking processes, which can enhance productivity.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The assembler is well-documented with comprehensive guides, reducing the learning curve for new users and providing valuable resources for advanced programming.

Possible disadvantages of flat assembler

  • Learning Curve
    FASM requires a good understanding of assembly language and low-level programming, which can be a steep learning curve for beginners.
  • Limited High-Level Features
    As a low-level assembler, FASM lacks the abstractions and conveniences of high-level programming languages, which can make complex application development cumbersome.
  • Community and Support
    FASM has a smaller community compared to more mainstream programming tools, which can result in less available support and fewer third-party libraries.
  • Platform-Specific Optimization
    While cross-platform, achieving optimal performance can require platform-specific adjustments, adding complexity to the development process.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Debugging assembly code can be challenging and time-consuming due to the low-level nature of the language and the increased possibility of hard-to-trace bugs.

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.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to flat assembler and Tiny C Compiler)
Text Editors
42 42%
58% 58
IDE
31 31%
69% 69
Project Management
33 33%
67% 67
Email Marketing
15 15%
85% 85

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Tiny C Compiler seems to be a lot more popular than flat assembler. While we know about 35 links to Tiny C Compiler, we've tracked only 1 mention of flat assembler. 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.

flat assembler mentions (1)

  • Show HN: Torque – A lightweight meta-assembler for any processor
    Oh neat! Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard of fasmg before. It looks like fasmg builds up from the byte level, so it would only work for architectures that use 8-bit words. Torque builds up from the bit level, so it can assemble code for architectures like in PIC microcontrollers, using word sizes of 12 or 14 bits. However, fasmg does allow a lot more control over the syntax of the language. The documentation... - Source: Hacker News / 24 days ago

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 / 10 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 flat assembler and Tiny C Compiler, you can also consider the following products

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

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

PCem - PCem emulates an IBM 5150 PC, several models of clones and successors, along with various graphics...

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

Yasm - Yasm is a complete rewrite of the NASM assembler.

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