Which Major Software Was Built with C and C++? A Comprehensive List

1. Operating Systems (OS)

Microsoft Windows: Assembly → C → C++

Note: Early Windows Mobile attempted C# modules but reverted to C++ due to performance.

Windows Vista was originally planned in C# but switched to C++ for speed.

Linux: C

Apple macOS: Mainly C, some C++ (earlier versions used assembly and Pascal).

Sun Solaris: C

HP‑UX: C

Symbian OS (Nokia phones): Assembly, mainly C++

Google Android (2008): C (rumored Java SDK, but native C SDK released later)

RIM BlackBerry OS 4.x: C++

2. Graphical User Interface Layer

Microsoft Windows UI: C++

Apple macOS UI (Aqua): C++

GNOME (Linux): C and C++, mainly C

KDE (Linux): C++

3. Desktop Search Tools

Google Desktop Search: C++

Microsoft Windows Desktop Search: C++

Beagle (Linux/Windows/UNIX): C# (based on Mono)

4. Office Software

Microsoft Office: Assembly → C → stable C++

Sun OpenOffice: Partly Java, mainly C++ (open source)

Corel/WordPerfect Office: Java trial in 1996, then reverted to C/C++

Adobe Acrobat Reader/Distiller: C++

5. Relational Databases

Oracle: Assembly, C, C++, Java – mainly C++

MySQL: C++

IBM DB2: Assembly, C, C++ – mainly C

Microsoft SQL Server: Assembly → C → C++

IBM Informix: Assembly, C, C++ – mainly C

SAP DB/MaxDB: C++

6. Web Browsers

Microsoft Internet Explorer: C++

Mozilla Firefox: C++

Netscape Navigator: originally C, later rewritten in Java (abandoned); Mozilla developed in C++

Safari (2003): C++

Google Chrome (2008): C++

Sun HotJava: Java (defunct 1999)

Opera: C++ (large mobile share)

Opera Mini (2007): C++ and Java (thin client + server‑side rendering)

Mosaic (the ancestor, now dead): C

7. Email Clients

Microsoft Outlook: C++

IBM Lotus Notes: Java

Foxmail: Delphi

8. Development IDEs

Microsoft Visual Studio: C++

Eclipse: Java (SWT UI based on C/C++)

Code::Blocks: C++

易语言 (Easy Language): C++

火山中文 / 火山移动: C++

9. Virtual Machines

.NET CLR: C++

Java Virtual Machine (JVM): C++

10. Enterprise Applications (WERP)

SAP mySAP ERP: C, later mainly ABAP/4

Oracle PeopleSoft: C++ → Java

Oracle E‑Business Suite: Java

11. Business Intelligence

Business Objects: C++

12. Graphics Processing

Adobe Photoshop: C++

The GIMP: C

13. Search Engines

Google: Assembly and C++, mainly C++

14. Notable Websites

eBay: C++ (2002), later mainly Java

Facebook: C++ and PHP (also uses Thrift compiled in C++)

Alibaba / Taobao: PHP → C++/Java (mainly Java)

15. Games

StarCraft, Warcraft, Counter‑Strike, Age of Empires, KartRider, Legend, World of Warcraft, etc., are all developed in C++ for performance.

16. Compilers

Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler: C++

Microsoft Visual Basic Compiler: C++

Microsoft Visual C# Compiler: C++

gcc (GNU C Compiler): C

javac (Sun Java Compiler): Java

Perl Interpreter: C++

PHP Interpreter: C

17. 3D Engines

Microsoft DirectX: C++

OpenGL: C

OGRE 3D: C++

18. Web Servers

Apache: C and C++, mainly C

Microsoft IIS: C++

Tomcat: Java

Jboss: Java

19. Mail Services

Microsoft Exchange Server: C → C++

Postfix: C

hMailServer: C++

Apache James: Java

20. CD/DVD Burning

Nero Burning ROM: C++

K3B: C++

21. Media Players

Winamp: C++

Microsoft Windows Media Player: C++

22. Peer‑to‑Peer (P2P) Software

eMule: C++

µTorrent: C++

Azureus: Java (UI built with SWT based on C/C++)

23. GPS Systems

TomTom: C++

Hertz NeverLost: C++

Garmin: C++

Motorola VIAMOTO (discontinued 2007): Java

24. Additional 3D Engines

Microsoft DirectX: C++ (latest DX11)

OpenGL: C

OGRE 3D: C++

25. Server Software

Apache: C

Nginx: C

IIS: C

26. Other Related

OpenStack: Python