The C programming language was developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs between 1968 and 1972 for Unix systems. Ritchie derived the features of C from the earlier language B, which is why he chose the name. Today, C has become one of the most popular languages. C's influence can be seen throughout many more recent programming languages, especially C++. Many of C's advantages are because of its age and commonality.
- C has been around for a very long time in terms of computer programming. Almost every aspect of the language, including tricks that weren't intended by the original developers, has been explored and clearly explained. There are a wealth of examples and reusable source code freely available on the Internet.
- Today, there are very few platforms that do not have a C compiler. This means that, with some minor tinkering, almost any C program can be compiled to run on almost any platform. C originated as a language for writing computer system software but has since been used extensively for developing application software for portable platforms such as smartphones.
- Because C is so widely used and well understood, it is a great tool for expressing programming ideas in a way that others can comprehend, regardless of the language they are most familiar with. C can also be seen as archetypal for many later languages. Language constructs in C, such as "if" statements, "for" and "while" loops, and types of variables, can be found in many more modern languages, so ideas expressed in C can still be understood by program developers.
- Although C is technically a high-level language, meaning it abstracts programming away from the basic machine code; it is one of the "lowest-level" high-level programming languages. C code exerts powerful, direct and close control over the machine. Because C is linked so closely with the machine, it provides methods for direct access to system components like the hard disk drive, optical drives and printers.
- C is a procedural programming language, not an object-oriented programming language. However, despite the wide use of object-oriented design in modern programming, many applications are still better suited to the procedural style of design, which often goes untaught to many many programmers, who focus exclusively on object-oriented design. Learning C provides a strong procedural background, which is a worthy skill set.
- C++ began as an extension to the C programming language, but it eventually developed into a fully object-oriented language of its own. However, because it shares the majority of its syntax and structure from C, it is a simple task to transition from C to C++, or from C++ to C.
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