Ultra C

Ultra C was a programming language developed by Lisp Systems ApS in the late 1980s for the Atari ST computer. It was intended as a high-performance C compiler, offering substantial speed improvements over existing C compilers for the platform, particularly Lattice C.

Ultra C aimed to provide full ANSI C compatibility alongside extensions and optimizations targeted specifically for the Motorola 68000 processor family used in the Atari ST. These optimizations often involved generating highly efficient machine code tailored to the specific capabilities of the processor.

Key features and characteristics of Ultra C included:

• Speed: The compiler was renowned for its fast compilation times and the execution speed of the generated code.
• ANSI C Compliance: Adherence to the ANSI C standard ensured compatibility with existing C code and libraries.
• Atari ST Specific Optimizations: Code generation was optimized to exploit the Atari ST's hardware architecture.
• Inline Assembler Support: Ultra C permitted embedding assembler code directly within C programs, enabling fine-grained control over hardware and performance.
• Debugging Tools: Ultra C typically included debugging tools to aid developers in identifying and resolving errors in their code.

While not as widely adopted as some other C compilers for the Atari ST, Ultra C gained a reputation as a professional-grade development tool known for its speed and code quality. It was used in the development of various commercial software titles for the platform. By the mid-1990s, interest in the Atari ST platform waned, and Ultra C was no longer actively developed or supported.