MisraStdC: Modern C11 Library Brings Rust-Style Safety and Productivity to C Development

For decades, C developers have wrestled with manual memory management, buffer overflows, and the absence of modern data structures—sacrificing productivity for low-level control. Siddharth Mishra's MisraStdC (not affiliated with MISRA standards) reimagines C development with a robust toolkit that brings Rust-like safety and ergonomics to the C11 ecosystem while maintaining zero-cost abstractions.

Why C Developers Need Modern Abstractions

C remains foundational in operating systems, embedded systems, and high-performance computing, but its lack of built-in generic containers and string handling leads to repetitive boilerplate and subtle bugs. MisraStdC addresses this gap with:

Type-safe generic containers (Vec<T>, Map<K,V>) using macro magic
Ownership semantics (l-value/r-value) for explicit memory management
Rust-inspired formatted I/O with compile-time type checking
Zero-overhead JSON serialization/parsing via declarative macros
Cross-platform process management for IPC workflows

// Rust-style formatted I/O example
Str output = StrInit();
StrWriteFmt(&output, "Sensor: {.2f}°C", sensor_temp);

Key Innovations in Practice

1. Memory-Safe Containers

The Vec(T) container enforces initialization/cleanup protocols and offers:
- Ownership transfer semantics (InsertL/InsertR)
- Deep copy support for nested structures
- Boundary checks and corruption detection

Vec(Point) points = VecInit();
Point p = {.x=10, .y=20};
VecInsertL(&points, &p, 0); // Explicit ownership transfer

2. Type-Safe String & I/O Operations

The Str type (specialized Vec<char>) supports:
- Formatted output with compile-time type validation
- Splitting, substring matching, and case conversion
- Prevention of format-string exploits via _Generic dispatches

StrReadFmt(input, "Name: {}, Age: {}", name_str, &age);

3. Expressive JSON Handling

Declarative macros like JR_OBJ_KV and JW_FLT_KV enable frictionless serialization:

JW_OBJ(json, {
    JW_STR_KV(json, "name", shape.name);
    JW_ARR_KV(json, "vertices", shape.vertices, vertex, {
        JW_OBJ(json, { JW_FLT_KV(json, "x", vertex.x); });
    });
});

Under the Hood: Ownership and Safety

MisraStdC enforces strict initialization/deinitialization protocols. Structures define CopyInit and Deinit hooks for deep copying and resource release. The library's ownership semantics prevent double-frees and leaks:
- InsertL: Transfers ownership (zeros original)
- InsertR: Copies value (retains original ownership)

Format Specifiers: Power and Pitfalls

The Rust-style {} placeholders support:
- Endian-aware binary I/O ({>4} for big-endian u32)
- Scientific notation ({.3e}), hex ({X}), binary ({b})
- String case conversion ({a} for lowercase)

⚠️ Critical limitation:

StrWriteFmt(&out, "{}", "literal"); // Fails! 
const char* s = "safe";
StrWriteFmt(&out, "{}", s); // Succeeds

_Generic resolution works for char*/Str but not char arrays.

The Path Forward

Built with Meson and supporting GCC/Clang/MSVC, MisraStdC offers a pragmatic evolution path for C codebases. Its Unlicense dedication removes adoption barriers, while features like cross-platform process management (SysProc) demonstrate its systems-programming ethos. For developers shackled by C's verbosity, this library delivers modern ergonomics without compromising the language's soul.

Explore the documentation and contribute on GitHub.

#MisraStdC #C11 #RustStyleIO