Importance of c language

C language is a famous programming language due to its qualities. Some qualities are: (1) it is robust language whose rich setup of built in functions and operator can be used to write any complex program. (2) program written in c are efficient due to several variety of data types and powerful operators. (3) the c complier combines the capabilities of an assembly language with the feature of high level language. Therefore it is well suited for writing both system software and business package. (4) there are only 32 keywords, several standard functions are available which can be used for developing program. (5) c is portable language, this means that c programs written for one computer system can be run on another system, with little or no modification. (6) c language is well suited for structured programming, this requires user to think of a problems in terms of function or modules or block. A collection of these modules make a program debugging and testing easier. (7) c language has its ability to extend itself. A c program is basically a collection of functions that are supported by the c library. We can continuously add our own functions to the library with the availability of the large number of functions. In india and abroad mostly people use c programming language because it is easy to learn and understand.

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.

1. Maturity
o

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.

Portability
o

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.

Common Language
o

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.

Low-Level Power
o

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.

Procedural Language

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.

Relationship to C+++
o

C++ began as an extension to the C programming language, but it eventually developed into a fully objectoriented 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.
'C' seems a strange name for a programming language. But this strange sounding language is one of the most popular computer language today because it is structured, high level, machine independent language. It allows software developers to develop programs without worrying about the hardware platforms where they will be implemented. The root of all modern language is ALGOL, introduced in the early 1960s. C was evolved from ALGOL, BCPL and B by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Laboratories in1972. C uses many concepts from these languages and added the concepts of data types and other powerful features. Since it was developed along with UNIX operating system, it is strongly associated with UNIX. During 1970's, C had evolved what is known as 'traditional C'. To assure that C language remains standard, in 1983, American National Standards Institute(ANSI) appointed a technical committee to define a standard for C. The committee approved a version of C in december 1989 which is now known as ANSI C. It was then approved by International Standards Organization(ISO) in 1990. This version of C is also referred as C89. The increasing popularity of C is probably due to its many desirable qualities. It is a robust language whose rich set of built-in functions and operators can be used to write any complex program. The C compiler combines the capabilities of an assembly language with features of a high level language and therefore it is well suited for writing both system software and business packages. In many of C compilers available in market are written in C. Programs written in C are efficient and fast. This is due to its variety of data types and powerful operators. C is highly portable. This means that C programs written for one computer can run on another with a little or no modification. Portability is important if we plan to use a new computer with different operating system. C language is well suited for structured programming, thus requiring the user to think of a problem in terms of function modules or blocks. A proper collection of these modules would make a complete program. This modular structure makes program debugging, testing and maintenance easier. Another important feature of C is its ability to extend itself. A C program is basically collections of function that are supported by the C library. We can continuously add our own function to C library. With the availability of large number of functions, the programming tasks become simple. I know most of you are not getting good tutorials on C programming.