CIlike

CIlike is a descriptive term used in software development to refer to tools, languages, or libraries that mimic or draw heavily on the syntax and style of the C family. The term is not a formal language specification; instead, it signals that a project aims for C-like familiarity, often to ease transition for programmers or to enable a compact, low-level style.

In practice, CIlike can describe languages with C-style syntax and similar control flow, domain-specific languages embedded in host languages that expose C-like syntax, or transpilers and compilers that translate a CIlike source to another target. Characteristics commonly associated with CIlike projects include braces-based blocks, semicolon-terminated statements, and operators reminiscent of C. However, implementations vary: some prioritize performance and memory control, others emphasize safety, abstraction, or domain-specific ergonomics. Not all CIlike projects feature explicit pointers, manual memory management, or undefined behaviors typical of C.

Criticism: the label can be vague and misleading because many languages use C-like syntax without sharing semantics.

See also: C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, C-like languages, domain-specific languages, transpilers.

History: The term appears in community discussions and documentation where authors want to convey syntactic familiarity. It lacks a formal standard and is applied inconsistently across projects.