We have to use C “for performance reasons” [closed]

Answer 1

For C:

• C is often the only language that is supported by compilers for a processors.
  
• Most of the libraries and example code is probability also in C.
  
• Most embedded developers have years of C experience but very little experience in anything else.
• Allows direct hardware interfacing and manual memory management.
• Easy integration with assembly language.

C is going to be around for many years to come. In embedded development its a monopoly that smothers any attempt at change. A language that need a VM like Java or Lua is never going to go mainstream in the embedded environment. A compiled language might stand a chance if it provide compelling new features over C.

Answer 2

There are several benchmarks on the web between different languages. Most of them you will find a C or C++ implementation at the top as they give you more control to really optimize things.

Example: The Computer Language Benchmarks Game.

Answer 3

A couple people have mentioned Lua. People I know who have worked with embedded systems have said Lua is useful, but it's not really its own language per se but more of a library that can be embedded in C. It is targetted towards use in embedded systems and generally you'll want to call Lua code from C. But pure C makes for simpler (though not necessarily easier) maintenance, since everyone knows it.

Answer 4

The truth is - not always.

It seems .NET runtime (but any other runtime can be taken as an example) imposes several MBs of runtime overhead. If this is all you have (in RAM), then you are out of luck. JavaME seems to be more compact, but it still all depends on resources you have at your disposal.

Answer 5

Ada is a high-level programming language that was designed for embedded systems and mission critical systems.

It is a fast secure language that has data checking built in everywhere. It is what the auto pilots in airplanes are programmed in.

At this link you have a comparison between Ada and C.

Answer 6

Depending on the embedded platform, if memory constraints are an issue, you'll most likely need to use a non-garbage collected programming language.

C in this respect is likely the most well-known by the team and the most widely supported with available libraries and tools.