Which Programming Languages Power Today's Operating Systems and Software?

1. Operating Systems

Microsoft Windows: Assembly → C → C++

Note: An early attempt to add C# modules (e.g., soft keyboard) to Windows Mobile failed because the code was too slow, leading to a rewrite in C++.

Bill Gates initially wanted to write Windows Vista entirely in C#, but performance issues forced a return to C++.

Linux: C

Apple macOS: Primarily C, some C++. Early versions also used Assembly and Pascal.

Sun Solaris: C

HP‑UX: C

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

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

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: Some Java for external interfaces, core in C++ (open source)

Corel/WordPerfect Office: Brief 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), then Mozilla in C++

Safari (2003): C++

Google Chrome (2008): C++

Sun HotJava: Java (discontinued 1999)

Opera: C++ (large mobile share)

Opera Mini (2007): Client in Java (<100 KB) and server side using C++ rendering engine

Mosaic (the ancestor): 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++ implementation

10. ERP / Enterprise Applications

SAP mySAP ERP: C, later 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 (2002): C++, later Java

Facebook: C++ and PHP (LAMP architecture, Thrift services in C++)

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

15. Games

Most listed games (StarCraft, Warcraft, CS, Age of Empires, etc.) are written in C++ for performance.

16. Compilers

Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler: C++

Microsoft Visual Basic Compiler/Interpreter: C++

Microsoft Visual C# Compiler: C++

gcc (GNU C Compiler): C

javac (Sun Java Compiler): Java

Perl: C++

PHP: 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++

Windows Media Player: C++

22. Peer‑to‑Peer (P2P) Software

eMule: C++

µTorrent: C++

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

23. GPS Navigation

TomTom: C++

Hertz NeverLost: C++

Garmin: C++

Motorola VIAMOTO (discontinued 2007): Java

24. Additional 3D Engines

Same as section 17: DirectX (C++), OpenGL (C), OGRE 3D (C++)

25. Server Software

Apache: C

Nginx: C

IIS: C

26. Other Related Projects

OpenStack: Python