--- title: Why Is SQLite Coded In C | daily.dev description: SQLite is implemented in C because it provides optimal performance, universal interoperability across platforms and languages, minimal runtime dependencies,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/why-is-sqlite-coded-in-c-4baxmwml2 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Why Is SQLite Coded In C | daily.dev og:description: SQLite is implemented in C because it provides optimal performance, universal interoperability across platforms and languages, minimal runtime dependencies,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/why-is-sqlite-coded-in-c-4baxmwml2 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/4BAXmwml2.png og:image:alt: Why Is SQLite Coded In C og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Why Is SQLite Coded In C **[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 5 min read · 18 upvotes · 7 comments ## Summary SQLite is implemented in C because it provides optimal performance, universal interoperability across platforms and languages, minimal runtime dependencies, and stability. C allows SQLite to be called from any programming language (Java, Swift, Objective-C, etc.) while maintaining speed comparable to assembly language. Object-oriented languages like C++ and Java lack this portability. While modern safe languages like Rust are interesting, they didn't exist during SQLite's first decade, introduce branch testing challenges, and handle out-of-memory situations differently than SQLite requires. The SQLite team prioritizes old, boring, well-understood languages over newer alternatives, though Rust remains a distant possibility if certain preconditions are met. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@musikk** · 1 upvotes > > If you are a "rustacean" and feel that Rust already meets the preconditions listed above, and that SQLite should be recoded in Rust, then you are welcomed and encouraged to contact the SQLite developers privately and argue your case. > > Oh oh. **@sunyfilip** · 1 upvotes > Make sense 🙂 It is most low code language after assembly after all, so if developer knows what he does, the efficiency is guaranteed 🌟 **@justbrowsing** · 1 upvotes > SQLite will also rarely, but randomly, corrupt the entire database. **@javierblanco** · 0 upvotes > It sounds like SQLite devs want someone to re-write it into Rust. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Many Small Queries Are Efficient In SQLite](https://daily.dev/posts/many-small-queries-are-efficient-in-sqlite-mondu6ybx) · Hacker News · 15 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#performance](https://daily.dev/tags/performance), [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#c](https://daily.dev/tags/c), [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust), [#sqlite](https://daily.dev/tags/sqlite) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/why-is-sqlite-coded-in-c-4baxmwml2) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} 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