Best of C Programming — July 2025

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   Article

   Towards Data Science·46w

   Run Your Python Code up to 80x Faster Using the Cython Library

   Cython is a superset of Python that converts Python code to C for significant performance improvements. The article demonstrates a four-step process: load Cython extension, use %%cython magic command, type function parameters, and declare variables with cdef. Three examples show dramatic speedups: nested loops (80x faster), Monte Carlo simulation (10x faster), and image processing (25x faster). The guide covers both Jupyter notebook usage and standalone Python script compilation using setup.py files.

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   Article

   InfoQ·46w

   From C to Rust: Inside Meta’s Developer-Led Messaging Migration

   Meta is rewriting its mobile messaging infrastructure from C to Rust to address maintainability issues and improve developer experience. The legacy C codebase had become difficult to work with, featuring long functions and manual memory management that led to production bugs. Rust's compile-time ownership checks eliminate memory safety issues while providing better tooling, cleaner code semantics, and faster developer feedback. Despite Rust's learning curve, Meta's team successfully onboarded engineers through mentoring and leveraged internal working groups for support. The migration prioritizes developer velocity and confidence over raw performance, with improved debugging capabilities and safer refactoring as key benefits.

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   Article

   Lobsters·43w

   wren-lang/wren: The Wren Programming Language. Wren is a small, fast, class-based concurrent scripting language.

   Wren is a small, fast, class-based concurrent scripting language designed for embedding in applications. It features a compact VM implementation under 4,000 lines of code, single-pass compilation to bytecode, object-oriented design with classes, and lightweight fibers for concurrency. The language combines elements from Smalltalk, Lua, and Erlang with modern syntax, offering a C99-compatible API for easy integration into existing applications.

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   Article

   InfoWorld·47w

   Meet Zig: The modern alternative to C

   Zig is a modern systems programming language designed as a safer, simpler alternative to C. Created by Andrew Kelley in 2015, it features explicit memory management through allocator objects, compile-time code execution with 'comptime', and strong C/C++ interoperability. Unlike C, Zig eliminates preprocessors and macros in favor of conditional compilation, uses error union types instead of exceptions, and includes a built-in package manager. Currently at version 0.14.0, Zig is already used in production by projects like Bun.js runtime and TigerBeetle database, with the language moving toward self-hosted compilation beyond LLVM dependency.

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