Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Tiny C Compiler VS Sciter

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

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

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.

Sciter logo Sciter

Embeddable HTML/CSS/script engine
  • Tiny C Compiler Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-11-06
  • Sciter Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-11

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.

Sciter features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Sciter's runtime is very small compared to other frameworks, making applications fast and efficient with low memory consumption.
  • Self-contained
    Sciter is a single DLL with no dependencies required. This simplifies deployment and reduces potential conflicts with other libraries.
  • Good performance
    The framework provides a balance between modern web technologies and high performance by utilizing native C++ code.
  • Cross-platform
    Sciter works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, allowing developers to write applications that run on multiple platforms without additional effort.
  • Rich UI capabilities
    The framework allows the creation of complex and responsive user interfaces using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Offline applications
    Sciter does not require a web server as it can run entirely offline, which is beneficial for certain application types.
  • Active development and support
    Sciter is actively maintained and supported, with regular updates and a responsive support system available.

Possible disadvantages of Sciter

  • Limited community
    Sciter has a smaller community compared to more popular frameworks like Electron or Qt, making it harder to find resources or peer support.
  • Proprietary technology
    Sciter is not open-source, which might be a drawback for developers who prefer or require open-source solutions.
  • Documentation
    While improving, some developers may find Sciter's documentation less comprehensive compared to more established frameworks.
  • Learning curve
    Developers familiar with web development will have to adapt to Sciter's specific quirks and methods, which may have a learning curve.
  • Limited integration tools
    Sciter does not have as extensive a range of third-party tools and plugins as more popular frameworks, affecting integration with other systems.

Analysis of Sciter

Overall verdict

  • Sciter is generally considered a good option for developers who are looking for a lightweight and efficient way to build desktop applications with web technologies.

Why this product is good

  • Sciter offers several advantages including a small footprint, easy integration, and the ability to create cross-platform desktop applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It does not require a separate run-time installation, which simplifies deployment. Additionally, it supports modern web standards, ensuring that developers can utilize the latest web technologies in their applications. Its focus on performance makes it suitable for resource-constrained environments.

Recommended for

    Sciter is recommended for developers who need to build GUI applications that are cross-platform and want to leverage their web development skills. It's especially useful for those looking to create lightweight applications without the overhead of more extensive frameworks like Electron. It is also suitable for developers interested in rapid prototyping and creating custom UI/UX solutions.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Tiny C Compiler and Sciter)
IDE
84 84%
16% 16
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Rapid Application Development

User comments

Share your experience with using Tiny C Compiler and Sciter. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Sciter should be more popular than Tiny C Compiler. It has been mentiond 71 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.

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 / 7 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 / 11 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 / almost 2 years 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 / about 2 years ago
View more

Sciter mentions (71)

  • Show HN: Vaev – A browser engine built from scratch (It renders google.com)
    There is also https://sciter.com/ that the author tried to find finance to make it opensource but couldn't find enough supporters. - Source: Hacker News / 25 days ago
  • Servo in 2024: stats, features and donations
    > I'm convinced that using an embedded browser engine to render app UI is the future. Sciter exists: https://sciter.com/ And it indeed is great for UI. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Blitz: A lightweight, modular, extensible web renderer
    I think Sciter is probably the better comparison: https://sciter.com/ It is a ground-up implementation of HTML and CSS rendering. IIRC it used to have its own programming language but now uses JS. I’ve long been interested in this kind of thing but haven’t actually played with Sciter in depth. Used to be that the licensing was a concern but looking at the site now it seems the terms have changed to be much more... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • So You Want to Build a Browser Engine
    Seems a good place to mention https://sciter.com/ It's been on HN loads of times. A "browser" engine but very narrow scope. Works a treat for LOB type apps. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Show HN: Dropflow, a CSS layout engine for node or <canvas>
    > wondering if css and svg could be used as abstraction over graphics and UI libraries There's another project called Sciter that uses CSS to target native graphics libraries: https://sciter.com > I wonder how hard it was to implement css. I've heard it can be pretty complex. It was hard, but the biggest barrier is the obscurity of the knowledge. Text layout is the hardest, because working with glyphs and... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Tiny C Compiler and Sciter, you can also consider the following products

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

Flutter - Build beautiful native apps in record time 🚀

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

Electron - Build cross platform desktop apps with web technologies

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

Ultralight - Fast, light HTML UI solution for C++ apps