A lot of languages claim to be a C replacement, but Zig is the second language I've seen that seemed like it had a reasonable plan to do so at any appreciable scale. The language makes working with the C ABI pretty easy, but it also has a build system that can seamlessly integrate Zig and C together, as well as having a translate-c that actually works shockingly well in the code I've put through it.
The only thing it didn't do was be 99% compatible with existing C codebases...which was the C++ strategy, the first language I can think of with such a plan. And frankly, I think Zig keeping C's relative simplicity while avoiding some of the pitfalls of the language proper was the better play.
D can compile a project with a C and a D source file with:
dmd foo.d bar.c
./fooYou keep compatibility with C, can tap into its ecosystem, but you are no longer stuck with outdated tooling
D gives you faster iteration, clearer diagnostics, and a generally smoother experience, even if it doesn't go as far as Rust in terms of safety
I wish more languages would follow this strategy, ImportC is great, let's you port things one step at a time, if required/needed
Let's be honest: who wants to write or generate C bindings? And who wants to risk porting robust/tested/maintained C code incorrectly?
Not me, and not anyone else. Many D users have commented on how ImportC eliminates the tedium of interfacing to me.
And with D, you don't have to write .h interface files, either (although you can, but it turns out pretty much nobody bothers to).