Best Embedded Programming Languages. From Microcontrollers to Advanced Systems

Embedded systems are the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from IoT devices and industrial automation to real-time embedded systems and safety-critical systems. Choosing the right programming language for embedded development matters, as it directly affects memory management, hardware interaction and overall system resources.

At Scythe Studio, we specialise in embedded systems development, helping businesses choose the best programming language for embedded devices based on their needs. Whether you’re developing resource-constrained devices or complex embedded systems, the right language ensures efficiency, security and scalability across different platforms.

 

C, C++, and Assembly

 

C: The Low-Level King

C is one of the top embedded systems programming languages, especially for resource-constrained systems that require low memory usage and low-level access. With minimal overhead, it’s widely used in device drivers, real-time operating systems and embedded programming for hardware with strict power consumption limitations.

Unlike some higher-level languages, C gives you direct access to hardware components, making it perfect for embedded software projects where precise memory footprint control is required. But C programming lacks built-in memory safety, which can lead to common programming errors like buffer overflows and memory leaks, increasing development complexity.

 

C Language Overview

 

Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Low-level access to hardware components	No built-in memory safety, prone to buffer overflows	Device drivers, real-time operating systems
Minimal overhead and efficient memory footprint	Manual memory management increases development complexity	Low-power, embedded systems with strict resource constraints
Wide adoption and large ecosystem	Limited support for modern object-oriented programming paradigms	Systems requiring maximum efficiency in power consumption

 

 

C++: When Object-Oriented Programming Makes Sense

C++ builds upon C by adding object-oriented programming, making it suitable for complex embedded systems that need multiple features while still having low-level control. With the Standard Template Library (STL), exception handling, and modern technology support, C++ is widely used in embedded world applications, especially those running on embedded Linux devices.

Unlike C programming, C++ development has an object-oriented design, so you can write reusable code across different platforms. However, features like dynamic memory allocation and additional runtime overhead in certain C++ abstractions can make it less predictable for real-time embedded systems with strict resource constraints.

 

C++ Language Overview

 

Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Object-oriented programming with vast libraries	Larger memory footprint compared to C	Complex embedded systems with object-oriented programming
Supports Standard Template Library (STL) for complex applications	Some systems may not support dynamic memory allocation on the heap	Industrial automation and IoT devices
Better memory safety than C	Longer compile times due to many features	Embedded Linux systems with multiple features

 

More about C++ in embedded systems? Check out our post: C++ for Embedded Systems

 

 

Why Do We Use C++ in Most of Our Embedded Systems Projects?

It’s fair to say that C++ is one of the most commonly chosen programming languages for embedded systems development. The number of active developers, open-source projects, and software already running C++ makes it the best choice in many cases.

C++ is a base language for several GUI frameworks like LVGL or Qt. Find out what is Qt in our article on this topic. Both frameworks allow you to create visual applications if your embedded device consists of a screen. LVGL is better for low-level microcontrollers while Qt is a way more powerful framework, but it also comes with significant overhead.

 

Assembly: When Every Byte and Cycle Counts

For real-time embedded systems where every unit of processing power matters, assembly language gives low-level access with minimal overhead. This low-level language allows direct control over system hardware, making it the top choice for device drivers and real-time operating systems with strict timing constraints.

Assembly programming provides absolute control over resources but is highly hardware-specific, which makes portability across different platforms tricky. Plus development using Assembly is slow and error-prone, which is why it’s used only for performance-critical parts of embedded development.

 

Assembly Language Overview

 

Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Low-level language with direct hardware interaction	Difficult to maintain and debug	Performance-critical real-time embedded systems
Minimal overhead and maximum performance	Highly hardware-specific, limiting portability	Ultra-low-power microcontrollers
Provides absolute control over system resources	Slow development compared to higher-level languages	Device drivers requiring low-level capabilities

 

 

Rust: The Safe and Modern Alternative

Rust is a new language that’s gaining traction in embedded systems development due to its memory safety and concurrent programming capabilities. Unlike C and C++, Rust eliminates buffer overflows, memory leaks, and other common programming errors, making it suitable for safety-critical systems.

One of Rust’s strengths is that it provides low-level control without sacrificing performance. It’s a great language for embedded systems that require strong security and predictable power consumption. However, it has a smaller ecosystem compared to C programming and C++ development and some embedded systems projects may face toolchain limitations.

 

Rust Language Overview

 

Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Strong memory safety and concurrent programming support	Relatively new language with smaller ecosystem	Safety-critical systems in automotive and aerospace
Eliminates buffer overflows and memory leaks	Steeper learning curve for traditional embedded developers	Memory-safe embedded systems projects
No garbage collection, reducing unpredictable system resource usage	Limited toolchain support in some embedded applications	Resource-constrained systems requiring reliability and security

Rust has a lot of unique advantages and there is a lot of noise around it on the Internet, but the main problem is that it is not so commonly used. We have a lot of people applying to work for us with Rust among their skills and when we ask them why they don’t look for a position where they could code in Rust, they say that there are not enough job offers including Rust.

 

 

C# and Higher-Level Languages: When are they viable?

 

Embedded Systems with Full OS Support

C# and other higher-level languages are viable for embedded systems that run on real-time operating systems or full-fledged OS environments. Unlike low-level languages, these supported languages offer rapid prototyping, extensive libraries, and object-oriented design.

However C# development comes with a higher memory footprint and requires more resources, so it’s not suitable for real-time embedded systems with strict power consumption constraints.

 

C# and Higher-Level Languages Overview

 

Pros	Cons	Use Cases
Rapid development processes with extensive libraries	Higher memory footprint compared to low-level languages	Embedded development with full-fledged OS environments
Garbage collection simplifies memory management	Not suitable for real-time embedded systems	Industrial automation and IoT
Strong community support for industrial automation and IoT devices	Requires significant resources to run efficiently	Machine learning applications on embedded platforms

 

 

Other Programming Languages for Embedded Programming

The term “embedded systems development” is already quite blurred. An embedded device can be a medical robot that runs a high-end PC with Windows or a small sensor with a tiny microprocessor. Both examples fit the definition of embedded systems, as nowadays embedded systems mean “closed devices,” and it doesn’t matter what underlying hardware or operating system they run.

It’s hard for me to type these words, but languages like Dart (for Flutter developers), aforementioned C#, Java, or JavaScript can also be named embedded programming languages in some cases. Before you decide to go easy, pay a lot of attention to choosing the appropriate one.

 

It Depends On Your Project

 

Microcontrollers vs. Embedded Linux Devices

The choice of embedded programming languages depends on the target hardware. While C and Assembly are necessary for low-level access in microcontrollers, other languages like C++, Rust and C# are suitable for embedded Linux devices that require extensive libraries and object-oriented support.

 

Real-Time Constraints

For real-time embedded systems, low-level capabilities and predictable execution are key. Languages that introduce garbage collection or exception handling may not be ideal.

 

Hardware limitations

Some target platforms might not support all the embedded programming languages that we want to use. This applies both in terms of hardware capabilities when it comes to performance in the case of high-level languages, but also when it comes to supporting a particular architecture or toolchain.

 

Ecosystem, Tooling, and Community Support

Each programming language for embedded development has its own ecosystem. C and C++ have a vast ecosystem and established embedded world tools, Rust is gaining traction due to its safety guarantees. C# and other languages provide ease of use but require specific system hardware support.

 

Need Expert Embedded Software Development? We Can Help!

At Scythe Studio, we specialise in embedded systems programming and can help you choose the right language for your project. Whether you’re working with resource-constrained devices, complex embedded software or real-time operating systems our team ensures your code will meet performance, security and reliability requirements.

Contact us today to get in touch!