Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PowerBASIC VS Portable C Compiler

Compare PowerBASIC VS Portable C Compiler and see what are their differences

PowerBASIC logo PowerBASIC

PowerBASIC, formerly Turbo Basic, is the brand of several commercial compilers by PowerBASIC Inc.

Portable C Compiler logo Portable C Compiler

pcc is a C99 compiler which aims to be small, simple, fast and understandable.
  • PowerBASIC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18
  • Portable C Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-06

PowerBASIC features and specs

  • Performance
    PowerBASIC compiles to highly optimized machine code, resulting in fast and efficient executables with minimal overhead.
  • Compact Executables
    The language is known for creating small and compact executables which are beneficial for performance and memory usage, especially in resource-constrained environments.
  • Legacy Support
    It is well-suited for maintaining and updating legacy BASIC applications, providing continuity for long-standing projects.
  • Low-Level Programming
    PowerBASIC offers direct access to system hardware and memory manipulation, which can be a significant advantage for system programmers.
  • Ease of Use
    The syntax is relatively straightforward, especially for those already familiar with BASIC, reducing the learning curve for new users.

Possible disadvantages of PowerBASIC

  • Limited Modern Features
    PowerBASIC lacks some of the modern programming constructs and libraries that are available in more contemporary programming languages.
  • Platform Limitations
    Primarily designed for Windows, PowerBASIC does not offer native support for other platforms, limiting cross-platform development capabilities.
  • Smaller User Community
    The user community for PowerBASIC is smaller compared to more popular languages, which can lead to fewer resources for support and collaboration.
  • Proprietary Nature
    As a proprietary product, PowerBASIC may involve licensing fees and does not offer the open-source flexibility that some developers prefer.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release of updates are less frequent compared to more mainstream programming environments, potentially impacting feature availability and bug fixes.

Portable C Compiler features and specs

  • Simplicity
    PCC is designed to be simple and easy to understand, making it a good choice for educational purposes and for those learning about compilers.
  • Portability
    As its name suggests, PCC is portable and can be easily adapted to different machine architectures, allowing for broad platform support.
  • Small Size
    PCC has a smaller code base compared to other compilers like GCC, which makes it more lightweight and quicker to compile.
  • Legacy Code Support
    PCC is useful for compiling older C code that may not comply with modern C standards, providing support for legacy systems.

Possible disadvantages of Portable C Compiler

  • Limited Features
    PCC may lack some of the advanced features and optimizations found in more modern compilers like GCC or Clang.
  • Performance
    The performance of code compiled with PCC may not be as optimized as that compiled with other contemporary compilers.
  • Community and Support
    PCC has a smaller community and less active development compared to larger projects, potentially leading to fewer updates and less troubleshooting support.
  • Standard Compliance
    PCC may not fully support the latest C standards, which could be a limitation for projects that need to adhere to modern specifications.

PowerBASIC videos

PowerBasic demos - MSXturboR/GFX9000 - 1994

Portable C Compiler videos

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

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PowerBASIC and Portable C Compiler)
Programming Language
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
49 49%
51% 51
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100
Text Editors
54 54%
46% 46

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Portable C Compiler seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 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.

PowerBASIC mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PowerBASIC yet. Tracking of PowerBASIC recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Portable C Compiler mentions (2)

  • Hand-optimizing the TCC code generator
    Check PCC [1]. Official release was 2014, but development still active [2]. [1] http://pcc.ludd.ltu.se/. - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
  • Research Unix v7 for Raspberry Pi
    Works for me in qemu, but remember to provide an SD card image as mentioned in the README before you run "make tools/sd.img" - e.g. The one in the releases https://github.com/r1mikey/research-unix-v7/releases/download/v7-unix-pi1-20200212/v7-unix-pi1-20200212.img.xz Otherwise, qemu will start up complaining about a large number of invalid memory accesses. Unfortunately, there is no port of pcc (the portable C... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PowerBASIC and Portable C Compiler, you can also consider the following products

PureBasic - Fantaisie Software Official WebSite. PureBasic - Feel The Pure Power. PureBasic is a programming language based on established BASIC rules.

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

Xojo - Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo.

Tiny C Compiler - The Tiny C Compiler is an x86, x86-64 and ARM processor C compiler created by Fabrice Bellard.

FreeBASIC - FreeBASIC is a completely free, open-source, 32-bit BASIC compiler, with syntax similar to...

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