programming languages

Rank

C vs Objective C

  1. This is a low level language

    95% 5%
    C 177 out of 186 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  2. I learned this language early in my career as a programmer

    91% 9%
    C 92 out of 101 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  3. This language allows me to write programs where I know exactly what they are doing under the hood

    90% 10%
    C 156 out of 173 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  4. This language is likely to be around for a very long time

    89% 11%
    C 146 out of 163 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  5. Programs written in this language tend to be efficient

    87% 13%
    C 158 out of 180 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  6. I would use this language for writing programs for an embedded hardware platform

    87% 13%
    C 127 out of 145 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  7. This is a mainstream language

    87% 13%
    C 70 out of 80 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  8. This language is suitable for real-time applications

    87% 13%
    C 124 out of 142 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  9. This language is minimal

    87% 13%
    C 148 out of 170 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  10. This language makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot

    86% 14%
    C 104 out of 120 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  11. There is a wide variety of open source code written in this language

    84% 16%
    C 143 out of 169 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  12. This language is good for numeric computing

    83% 17%
    C 121 out of 145 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  13. I would use this language to write a command-line app

    83% 17%
    C 151 out of 181 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  14. I would recommend most programmers learn this language, regardless of whether they have a specific need for it

    82% 18%
    C 69 out of 84 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  15. Programs written in this language tend to play well with others

    81% 19%
    C 118 out of 144 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  16. I would use this language for writing embedded programs

    81% 19%
    C 27 out of 33 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  17. There are many good open-source tools for this language

    80% 20%
    C 132 out of 163 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  18. Programs written in this language will usually work in future versions of the language

    80% 20%
    C 133 out of 165 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  19. This language is good for scientific computing

    79% 21%
    C 123 out of 154 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  20. This language is built on a small core of orthogonal features

    77% 23%
    C 98 out of 127 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  21. There are many good commercial tools for this language

    75% 25%
    C 120 out of 159 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  22. It's unusual for me to discover unfamiliar features

    75% 25%
    C 128 out of 170 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  23. If this language didn't exist, I would have trouble finding a satisfactory replacement

    74% 26%
    C 98 out of 131 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  24. I know this language well

    73% 27%
    C 1106 out of 1502 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  25. When I run into problems my colleagues can provide me with immediate help with this language

    72% 28%
    C 114 out of 158 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  26. This language is frequently used for applications it isn't suitable for

    71% 29%
    C 93 out of 130 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  27. This language has a high quality implementation

    71% 29%
    C 54 out of 76 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  28. I find it easy to write efficient code in this language

    70% 30%
    C 111 out of 158 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  29. I know many other people who use this language

    69% 31%
    C 118 out of 169 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  30. Third-party libraries are readily available, well-documented, and of high quality

    69% 31%
    C 110 out of 158 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  31. Learning this language improved my ability as a programmer

    67% 33%
    C 124 out of 184 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  32. This language has a very coherent design

    65% 35%
    C 95 out of 144 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  33. I can imagine this will be a popular language in twenty years time

    65% 35%
    C 102 out of 156 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  34. Developers who primarily use this language often burn out after a few years

    64% 36%
    C 74 out of 114 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  35. I usually use this language on projects with many other members

    64% 36%
    C 102 out of 159 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  36. There are many good tools for this language

    63% 37%
    C 103 out of 161 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  37. Code written in this language tends to be terse

    63% 37%
    C 106 out of 166 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  38. This language is best for very small projects

    63% 37%
    C 98 out of 155 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  39. Writing code in this language is a lot of work

    62% 38%
    C 107 out of 170 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  40. I would use this language for writing server programs

    62% 38%
    C 98 out of 156 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  41. This language has a strong static type system

    62% 38%
    C 116 out of 185 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  42. This language is well documented

    62% 38%
    C 100 out of 161 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  43. I use many applications written in this language

    62% 38%
    C 103 out of 166 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  44. The resources for learning this language are of high quality

    61% 39%
    C 100 out of 162 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  45. I would list this language on my resume

    61% 39%
    C 85 out of 138 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  46. There is a lot of accidental complexity when writing code in this language

    60% 40%
    C 93 out of 153 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  47. This language is likely to have a strong influence on future languages

    60% 40%
    C 93 out of 153 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  48. This language would be good for teaching children to write software

    59% 41%
    C 51 out of 86 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  49. Learning this language significantly changed how I use other languages.

    57% 43%
    C 52 out of 91 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  50. Code written in this language will usually run in all the major implementations if it runs in one of them.

    56% 44%
    C 41 out of 72 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  51. It is too easy to write code in this language that looks like it does one thing but actually does something else

    56% 44%
    C 80 out of 141 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  52. This language is good for beginners

    55% 45%
    C 86 out of 154 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  53. I regularly use this language

    54% 46%
    C 109 out of 199 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  54. This language matches it's problem domain particularly well.

    54% 46%
    C 42 out of 77 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  55. I can imagine using this language in my day job

    54% 46%
    C 104 out of 191 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  56. I use a lot of code written in this language which I really don't want to have to make changes to

    53% 47%
    C 24 out of 45 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  57. If my code in this language successfully compiles, there is a good chance my code is correct.

    53% 47%
    C 43 out of 81 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  58. This language is easier to use for it's problem domain by removing unneeded expressiveness (such as not being Turing complete).

    52% 48%
    C 23 out of 44 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  59. This language has a good library distribution mechanism.

    51% 49%
    C 42 out of 82 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  60. I usually use this language on solo projects

    50% 50%
    C 89 out of 175 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  61. I often feel like I am not smart enough to write this language

    50% 50%
    C 36 out of 71 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  62. This language is good for distributed computing

    50% 50%
    C 74 out of 147 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  63. This language is unusually bad for beginners

    50% 50%
    C 93 out of 185 picked C over Objective C Objective C

  64. I find code written in this language very elegant

    48% 52%
    C 93 out of 181 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  65. I would use this language for casual scripting

    48% 52%
    C 88 out of 170 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  66. I often get angry when writing code in this language

    48% 52%
    C 43 out of 83 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  67. The thought that I may still be using this language in twenty years time fills me with dread

    48% 52%
    C 81 out of 156 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  68. It is easy to debug programs written in this language when it goes wrong

    47% 53%
    C 85 out of 162 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  69. This language has a good community

    46% 54%
    C 85 out of 160 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  70. When I write code in this language I can be very sure it is correct

    46% 54%
    C 92 out of 173 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  71. It is easy to tell at a glance what code in this language does

    46% 54%
    C 89 out of 166 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  72. I often write things in this language with the intent of rewriting them in something else later

    46% 54%
    C 61 out of 113 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  73. I would use this language for a web project

    45% 55%
    C 98 out of 181 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  74. I enjoy using this language

    45% 55%
    C 111 out of 202 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  75. Code written in this language tends to be very reliable

    44% 56%
    C 83 out of 150 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  76. I use this language out of choice

    44% 56%
    C 81 out of 145 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  77. This language is very flexible

    43% 57%
    C 103 out of 182 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  78. This language has a very dogmatic community

    42% 58%
    C 88 out of 154 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  79. This language has an annoying syntax

    42% 58%
    C 55 out of 96 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  80. This language has a niche in which it is great

    42% 58%
    C 98 out of 171 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  81. Libraries in this language tend to be well documented.

    41% 59%
    C 46 out of 79 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  82. I would use this language as a scripting language embedded inside a larger application

    41% 59%
    C 84 out of 144 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  83. This language has a very rigid idea of how things should be done

    41% 59%
    C 104 out of 178 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  84. This language excels at concurrency

    41% 59%
    C 91 out of 155 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  85. I enjoy playing with this language but would never use it for "real code"

    41% 59%
    C 84 out of 143 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  86. Code written in this language tends to be verbose

    40% 60%
    C 104 out of 176 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  87. I would like to write more of this language than I currently do

    39% 61%
    C 105 out of 174 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  88. I am sometimes embarrassed to admit to my peers that I know this language

    38% 62%
    C 77 out of 126 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  89. Code written in this language is very readable

    38% 62%
    C 107 out of 175 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  90. This language has a wide variety of agreed-upon conventions, which are generally adhered to reasonably well, and which increase my productivity

    38% 62%
    C 87 out of 142 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  91. This language has unusual features that I often miss when using other languages

    38% 62%
    C 94 out of 153 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  92. I am reluctant to admit to knowing this language

    37% 63%
    C 87 out of 140 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  93. This language is best for very large projects

    37% 63%
    C 100 out of 159 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  94. This language excels at symbolic manipulation

    36% 64%
    C 92 out of 146 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  95. I rarely have difficulty abstracting patterns I find in my code

    36% 64%
    C 110 out of 172 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  96. I find this language easy to prototype in

    36% 64%
    C 119 out of 186 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  97. This language encourages writing reusable code.

    34% 66%
    C 55 out of 84 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  98. This language has well-organized libraries with consistent, carefully thought-out interfaces

    33% 67%
    C 84 out of 127 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  99. This language excels at text processing

    32% 68%
    C 100 out of 149 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  100. I would use this language for mobile applications

    32% 68%
    C 129 out of 190 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  101. This language encourages writing code that is easy to maintain.

    32% 68%
    C 53 out of 78 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  102. This language has a niche outside of which I would not use it

    28% 72%
    C 117 out of 163 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  103. I still discover new features of this language on a fairly regular basis

    28% 72%
    C 92 out of 128 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  104. This language has many features which feel "tacked on"

    27% 73%
    C 103 out of 143 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  105. This language is well suited for an agile development approach using short iterations.

    25% 75%
    C 63 out of 84 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  106. This language is expressive

    24% 76%
    C 133 out of 176 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  107. This language is likely to be a passing fad

    20% 80%
    C 106 out of 134 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  108. This language is large

    20% 80%
    C 114 out of 143 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  109. The semantics of this language are much different than other languages I know.

    18% 82%
    C 64 out of 79 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  110. I would use this language for a desktop GUI project

    18% 82%
    C 165 out of 203 picked Objective C over C Objective C

  111. This is a high level language

    11% 89%
    C 170 out of 193 picked Objective C over C Objective C

What's going on here?

The absolute rankings are interesting for large scale comparisons but when you want to know about two specific languages it's much more informative to look at how the two fare when they go directly head to head.

Here are all the statements which we've got enough comparisons between C and Objective C to be meaningful and which of the two our users picked.

The order in which we're presenting them is a little arbitrary (sorry), but we've tried to put the things which they're both good at first so as to give you the most interesting picture of it.