Ch/ˌsiːˈeɪtʃ/ is a proprietary cross-platformC and C++ interpreter and scripting language environment, originally designed by Harry H. Cheng as a scripting language for beginners to learn mathematics, computing, numerical analysis (numeric methods), and programming in C/C++. Ch is now developed and marketed by SoftIntegration, Inc. A student edition is freely available. Ch Professional Edition for Raspberry Pi is free for non-commercial use.
Ch can be embedded in C/C++ application programs. It has numerical computing and graphical plotting features. Ch is a combined shell and IDE.[1] Ch shell combines the features of common shell and C language.[2] ChIDE provides quick code navigation and symbolic debugging. It is based on embedded Ch, Scite and Scintilla.[3][4]
Ch is written in C and runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, AIX, Solaris, QNX, and HP-UX. It supports C90 and major C99 features, but it does not support the full set of C++ features. C99 complex number, IEEE-754 floating-point arithmetic, and variable-length array features were supported in Ch before they became part of the C99 standard.[5][6][7][8] An article published by Computer Reseller News (CRN) named Ch as notable among C-based virtual machines for its functionality and the availability of third-party libraries.[9]
Ch has many toolkits that extend its functions. For example, Ch Mechanism Toolkit is used for design and analysis of commonly used mechanisms such as fourbar linkage, five-bar linkage, six-bar linkage, crank-slider mechanism, and cam-follower system.[10] Ch Control System Toolkit is used for modeling, design, and analysis of continuous-time or discrete-time linear time invariant (LTI) control systems.[11] Both toolkits includes the source code.
Ch is now used and integrated into curriculum by many high schools and universities to teach computing and programming in C/C++.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Ch has been integrated into free C-STEM Studio, a platform for learning computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (C-STEM) with robotics. C-STEM Studio is developed by UC Davis Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education (C-STEM). It offers the curriculum for K-12 students.
Ch supports LEGO Mindstorms NXT and EV3, Arduino, Linkbot, Finch Robot, RoboTalk and Raspberry Pi, Pi Zero, and ARM for robot programming and learning.[19][20][21] It can also be embedded into the LabVIEW system-design platform and development environment.[22]
Features
Ch supports the 1999 ISO C Standard (C99) and C++ classes. It is a superset of C with C++ classes. Several major features of C99 are supported, such as complex numbers, variable length arrays (VLAs), IEEE-754 floating-point arithmetic, and generic mathematical functions. The specification for wide characters in Addendum 1 for C90 is also supported.
Private/public data and functions in classes. Ch is compatible with C++ in that by default, members of a class definition are assumed to be private until a 'public' declaration is given
Ch supports classes in C++ with added abilities, including:
Classes inside member functions
Nested functions with classes
Passing member function to argument of pointer-to-function type of functions
Ch can interact with existing C/C++ libraries and call C/C++ functions from Ch script.[23]
As a C/C++ interpreter, Ch can be used as a scripting engine and extension language for applications. Pointers to arrays or variables can be passed and shared in both C-compiled and Ch scripting contexts. One example of an embedded Ch scripting application is Mobile-C, which has been used for collaborative visualization of distributed mesh model.[24][25][26]
Ch has a built-in string type (string_t) for automatic memory allocation and de-allocation. It supports shell aliases, history, piping, etc.[27][28]
Ch has built-in 2D/3D graphical plotting features and computational arrays for numerical computing. A 2D linear equation of the form b = A*x can be written verbatim in Ch.[29]
^Cheng, Harry (1995). "Extending C with arrays of variable length". Computer Standards & Interfaces. 17 (4): 375–406. doi:10.1016/0920-5489(95)00007-H.[dead link]
^Cheng, Harry (2006). "Object-Oriented Interactive Mechanism Design and Analysis". Engineering with Computers. 21 (3): 237–246. doi:10.1007/s00366-005-0008-4. S2CID 16996625.
^Zhu, Yong (2003). "An Object-Based Software Package for Interactive Control System Design and Analysis". Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering. 3 (4): 366–367. doi:10.1115/1.1630815.
^Cheng, Harry (2009). "C for the Course". ASME Mechanical Engineering Magazine: 50–52. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Huber, Tom (2010). "An Introduction to C and Ch: Your One-Stop Shop for Scientific Computing". Computing in Science & Engineering. 12 (4): 7. doi:10.1109/MCSE.2010.82.
^Liu, Li; Wang, Zhaoqing; Jiang, Xusheng (2010). "Anchor-based promgramming teaching embedded with Ch platform". Anchor-based programming teaching embedded with Ch platform. Mechatronics and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA), IEEE/ASME International Conference. pp. 49–52. doi:10.1109/MESA.2010.5552033. ISBN 978-1-4244-7101-0. S2CID 2063024.
^Furman, B.; Wertz, E. (2010). Proceedings of 2010 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications. Mechatronics and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA), IEEE/ASME International Conference. pp. 70–75. doi:10.1109/MESA.2010.5552091. ISBN 978-1-4244-7101-0. S2CID 12764358.
^Stopforth, Riaan (2013). "Teaching and programming with Ch for tertiary-level mechatronics engineering education". 2013 6th Robotics and Mechatronics Conference (Rob Mech). Robotics and Mechatronics Conference (RobMech). pp. 146–149. doi:10.1109/RoboMech.2013.6685507. ISBN 978-1-4799-1518-7. S2CID 23172598.
^Wang, Li-rong; Bo, Yo; Hagiwara, I (2009). 2009 IEEE 10th International Conference on Computer-Aided Industrial Design & Conceptual Design. Computer-Aided Industrial Design & Conceptual Design, 2009. CAID & CD 2009. IEEE 10th International Conference. pp. 1127–1132. doi:10.1109/CAIDCD.2009.5375178. ISBN 978-1-4244-5266-8. S2CID 39307433.
^Wang, Li-rong; Bo, Yo; Hagiwara, Ichiro (2009). An agent based collaborative simplification of 3D mesh model. Cdve'09. CDVE'09 Proceedings of the 6th international conference on cooperative design, visualization, and engineering. pp. 325–328. ISBN 9783642042645.
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