C (programming language): Difference between revisions

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'''C''' (''pronounced'' {{IPAc-en|'|s|iː}}'' – likesimilar theto letter [[c]]'')<ref>{{cite web |title=The name is based on, and pronounced like the letter C in the English alphabet |url=https://eng.ichacha.net/pronounce/the%20c%20programming%20language.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117151137/https://eng.ichacha.net/pronounce/the%20c%20programming%20language.html |archive-date=November 17, 2022 |access-date=November 17, 2022 |website=the c programming language sound |publisher=English Chinese Dictionary |language=en-US}}</ref> is a [[general-purpose programming language]]. It was created in the 1970s by [[Dennis Ritchie]] and remains very widely used and influential. By design, C's features cleanly reflect the capabilities of the targeted [[Central processing unit|CPUs]]. It has found lasting use in [[operating system]]s code (especially in [[Kernel (operating system)|kernels]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Munoz |first=Daniel |title=After All These Years, the World is Still Powered by C Programming {{!}} Toptal |url=https://www.toptal.com/c/after-all-these-years-the-world-is-still-powered-by-c-programming |access-date=June 15, 2024 |website=Toptal Engineering Blog}}</ref>), [[device driver]]s, and [[protocol stack]]s, but its use in [[application software]] has been decreasing.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 9, 2016 |title=C Language Drops to Lowest Popularity Rating |url=https://www.developer.com/news/c-language-drops-to-lowest-popularity-rating/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822225609/https://www.developer.com/news/c-language-drops-to-lowest-popularity-rating/ |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |access-date=August 1, 2022 |website=Developer.com |language=en-US}}</ref> C is commonly used on computer architectures that range from the largest [[supercomputer]]s to the smallest [[microcontroller]]s and [[embedded system]]s.

A successor to the programming language [[B (programming language)|B]], C was originally developed at [[Bell Labs]] by Ritchie between 1972 and 1973 to construct utilities running on [[Unix]]. It was applied to re-implementing the kernel of the Unix operating system.<ref name="sigplan" /> During the 1980s, C gradually gained popularity. It has become one of the most widely used [[programming language]]s,<ref name="langpop">{{cite web |url=http://www.langpop.com/ |title=Programming Language Popularity |year=2009 |access-date=January 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090116080326/http://www.langpop.com/ |archive-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name="TIOBE-2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html | title=TIOBE Programming Community Index |year=2009 |access-date=May 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090504181627/http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html |archive-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> with C [[compiler]]s available for practically all modern [[computer architecture]]s and [[operating system]]s. The book ''[[The C Programming Language]]'', co-authored by the original language designer, served for many years as the ''de facto'' standard for the language.<ref name="ward198308">{{cite news |last=Ward |first=Terry A. |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-08/1983_08_BYTE_08-08_The_C_Language#page/n267/mode/2up |title=Annotated C / A Bibliography of the C Language |work=Byte |date=August 1983 |access-date=January 31, 2015 |pages=268}}</ref><ref name="C in a Nutshell"/> C has been standardized since 1989 by the [[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI) and, subsequently, jointly by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) and the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]] (IEC).