C programming language

The C language is a structured programming language developed in the mid 70's by Dennis Ritchie during his collaboration with Bell Labs. Initially, the C language was created for UNIX operating system development and is based on two languages: BCPL (written by Martin Richards) and B programming language, which was written by Ken Thompson in the ‘70s. C is ideal for developing firmware or portable applications. It supports structured programming, lexical variable scope and recursion. Today, C is one of the most widely used and popular programming language.

Advantages

  • C is a portable language and can be used on almost any platform
  • Applications written in C require minimal runtime support
  • Speed of compilation – C compiler can compile around 1000 lines of code in a few seconds
  • C has lots of libraries, which means that it can save development time
  • C is a structured programming language – this modular structure makes debugging, testing and maintenance easier
  • The language can handle low-level activities
  • C is a very good choice when performance is crucial

Disadvantages

  • C does not have the concept of OOP – users have to use a procedural approach
  • Some unexpected behaviour that is difficult to debug might be encountered

Components

  • Libraries
  • Preprocessor directives
  • Functions
  • Variables
  • Statements & Expressions
  • Comments

Development tools

  • Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Eclipse
  • NetBeans
  • Code::Blocks
  • DigitalMars C/C++

Versions

  • ANSI C and ISO C
  • C99
  • C11
  • Embedded C
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