Programing Fundamentals
Introduction to C Language
C language?
C is a general-purpose, high-level language that was originally
developed by Dennis M. Ritchie along with Brian. W. Kernighan to
develop the UNIX operating system at Bell Labs( a lab in America
famous for working on UNIX operating system) in 1972.
C was initially used for system development work, in particular the
programs that make-up the operating system.
C was adopted as a system development language because it
produces code that runs nearly as fast as code written in assembly
language.
Features of C
The C has now become a widely used professional
language for various reasons...
Easy to learn
Robust (It can handle every thing)
Structured language
Efficient & Fast
It can handle low-level activities (Mid Level Language)
It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms
(compiler based)
Extensible (Own Libraries)
Some examples of the use of C might be:
➢ Operating Systems
➢ Language Compilers
➢ Assemblers
➢ Text Editors
➢ Print Spoolers
➢ Network Drivers
➢ Modern Programs
➢ Databases
➢ Language Interpreters
➢ Utilities
History of C language…
In 1967 a language named BCPL(Basic combined programing language) was
used who's author was Martin Ritchards
Based on (BCPL) a language was developed called B in 1970 designed by Ken
Thompson at Bell Labs
1972 C language was derived from B Language who's Author was Dennis Ritchie
& Brian. W. Kernighan
Due to different compilers & version of C, caused incompatibility issues
In 1990 C language was standardized by ANSI(American National Standard
Institution) & ISO(International Standards Organization) in order to remove
incompatibility