what is c programming language

What is C ?

The C language was developed by Dennis Ritchie at AT & T Bell laboratories, USA in 1972 for use Unix operating system. Like most programming language, C is derived from ALGOL , the first language to use a block structure which was introduced in early 1960's. Although it was widely accepted in Europe but never gained wide acceptance in the United States.

C is a powerful , efficient, general purpose structured programming language. It is a reliable, simple and easy to use therefore it has become a very popular programming language. It is not only limited to programming professional and experts but any computer beginner who has knowledge of its syntax and programming methodology can make programs in it.

CHARACTERISTICS OF C LANGUAGE

C is a powerful and flexible general purpose language that won widespread acceptance over the years. Several features make C a very attractive and popular programming language for coding solutions. The following are the characteristics of C:

1. Simplicity:

 C has the richest collection of in-built functions, Keywords and data types. It also resembles general English language. Moreover, it follows a structured approach so it is easy to learn.

2. Clarity :

 the keywords and library functions available in C resembles common English words thus it helps to improve the clarity of the program.

3. Portability :

 C is highly portable language. By the term 'portable', we mean computer independent. The program written on one computer can run on another computer having different operating system with little or no modification.

4. Case Sensitive: 

  C is a case sensitive language. The identifiers written in uppercase letter are different from identifiers written in lowercase letter. So variable names num, num and NUM are different.

5. Easily Available:

The C compilers are easily available and they require very less disk space for their storage . It is very easy to load different types of C compilers in computer.

6. Versatile:

C is a very versatile language as it can solve problems in almost every application area.

7. Errors are easily detected:

They syntax errors can easily be detected by the C compiler. When the programs, after typing in the editor, are compiled by compiler, then errors are immediately displayed on the screen pointing to the lines where they occur.

8. Flexibility: 

C can be used for a wide variety of applications ranging from embedded systems to commercial data processing techniques.

9. C can be easily embedded in other languages such as Prolog .