Show HN: Tight C, a systems language with 10 keywords

Tight C is a minimal systems programming language that compiles to C11 and features only 10 keywords, with no garbage collector, type inference, or object-oriented programming. It offers manual memory management through `alloc()` and `free()`, raw and fat pointers with built-in slicing, packed structs, and direct C FFI via `extern "C"`. The language prioritizes simplicity and predictability, aiming to provide C-level power without its historical complexity.

Simplest possible, usable systems language Tight-C is a minimal systems programming language that compiles to C. It has 10 keywords , no garbage collector, no inference, no OOP — just explicit, predictable code with C-level power. 10 keywords — if , loop , break , defer , ret , struct , fn , use , pub , pin No hidden magic — no GC, no type inference, no shadowing, no aliasing Raw pointers - and fat pointers = with built-in slicing Manual memory — alloc / free with defer for cleanup Packed structs — no padding, predictable layout C FFI — extern "C" for direct interop Compiles to C11 — readable output, use any C toolchain Build the compiler make Compile stdlib ./tcc stdlib/io.tc -o stdlib/io.h Compile a program ./tcc samples/fizzbuzz.tc -o fizzbuzz.c Build and run gcc fizzbuzz.c -std=c11 -o fizzbuzz ./fizzbuzz use "stdlib/io.tc" void fn main: { print "hello, world" } i32 x = 10 f64 pi = 3.14 u8 byte Uninitialized variables default to 0 . i32 fn add: i32 a, i32 b { ret a + b } struct Point { i32 x, i32 y } Point p p.x = 10 php i32 x = 42 - i32 ptr = @x // address-of - ptr = 99 // dereference = i32 slice = arr 1:4 // fat pointer slice i32 len = slice.len // built-in length if x 0 { ... } loop { ... break } loop if i < 10 { ... } php - i32 arr = alloc i32, 100 defer { free arr } php extern "C" { i32 fn printf: - i8 fmt, ... {} } | Tight-C | C Equivalent | |---|---| i8 | char | i16 | int16 t | i32 | int32 t | i64 | int64 t | u8 | uint8 t | u16 | uint16 t | u32 | uint32 t | u64 | uint64 t | f32 | float | f64 | double | void | void | tc-lang/ compiler/ include/ Header files src/ Compiler source C stdlib/ Standard library .tc samples/ Example programs docs/ Language specification Makefile Build system stdlib/io.tc — I/O | Function | Description | |---|---| print s | Print string + newline | printn s | Print string, no newline | printi n | Print i64 + newline | printin n | Print i64, no newline | readi | Read i64 from stdin | readc | Read single char from stdin | stdlib/str.tc — Strings | Function | Description | |---|---| slen s | String length | seq a, b | String equality returns 1 if equal | scpy dest, src | Copy string | scat dest, src | Concatenate strings | sneq a, b, n | Compare first n bytes | sfind s, c | Find first char occurrence | sfindlast s, c | Find last char occurrence | shas haystack, needle | Find substring | stdlib/math.tc — Math | Function | Description | |---|---| iabs x | Absolute value integer | min a, b | Minimum of two integers | max a, b | Maximum of two integers | clamp x, lo, hi | Clamp value to range | sqrt64 x | Square root f64 | pow64 base, exp | Power f64 | fabs64 x | Absolute value f64 | sin , cos , tan | Trig functions extern C | log , log2 , log10 | Logarithms extern C | stdlib/mem.tc — Memory | Function | Description | |---|---| zero ptr, n | Zero out n bytes | copy dest, src, n | Copy n bytes overlap safe | memeq a, b, n | Compare n bytes 1 if equal | fill ptr, val, n | Fill n bytes with value | stdlib/conv.tc — Conversions | Function | Description | |---|---| stoi s | String to i64 | stoib s, base | String to i64 with base | stof s | String to f64 | itos n, buf, size | i64 to string into buffer | ftos n, buf, size | f64 to string into buffer | Requires gcc and make . make Build tcc make clean Remove build artifacts Everything that can be built in the stdlib has to. Tight-C bets that C's power doesn't require C's complexity. Strip away the historical baggage and you get a language a single person can implement, understand fully, and still write real systems code in. Built by @alonsovm44