Alternative to C, C++? [closed]

Question

All,

There are so many programming languages/Operating systems/device drivers i.e. softwares that are built using C and C++. I was wondering if C and C++ were the only 2 low level programming languages that all companies ever had to build their own product(s)? If there are, why do C and C++ get so much preference over other options?

Answer 1

There are many "medium-level" languages suitable for OS development, but C and to a lesser extent C++ are by far the most popular. There are many reasons for this, including:

• The early success of C as the implementation of Unix led to its widespread adoption.

• The vast availability of great development tools (compilers, lint, editors, memory leak analysis, profiles, code generators, ad nauseam) makes C even more compelling.

• The closeness of C to the "abstract machine" level; unlike, say, Pascal, which has considerably more runtime overhead. This is desirable when writing high performance software. C has sometimes been called a "portable assembler" for its closeness to the hardware.

Answer 2

Forth is sometimes used for developing low level software like device drivers. For example the boot prom for SUN SPARC based servers used to be written in Forth. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Firmware for details.