History of C Programming Language

History Of C Language

C is a general purpose programming language developed in the Bell telephone Laboratories by DENNIS RITCHIE in1972 that is extremely popular, simple and flexible. It is machine-independent, structured programming language which is used extensively in various applications.

It is an outgrowth of two earlier languages, called BCPL and B. It is a high-level programming language. However, often referred as a middle-level programming language; since it provides rich support to low-level programming constructs.

C was largely confined to use with bell laboratories until 1978, when Kernighan and Ritche published a definitive description of the language.

Numerous compilers had been written for computers of all sizes and many commercial applications had been developed . Most commercial implementations of c differed from Kernignhan and Ritchie's original definition.

Features of C:

  • Structured language
  • Simple and Robust
  • Portable
  • Extensibility
  • Wide acceptability
  • It has Limited Number of Key Word
  • It can also handle low-level prograramming

Characteristics of C

All languages have a characteristic look. C has a variety of language characteristics that are largely a consequence of the original constricted development environment and its original applications implementation of an operating system. Some of the most significant characteristics of the languages are list below:

Let's see the programming languages that were developed before C language.

Language Year Developed By
Algol 1960 International Group
BCPL 1967 Martin Richard
B 1970 Ken Thompson
Traditional C 1972 Dennis Ritchie
K & R C 1978 Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie
ANSI C 1989 ANSI Committee
ANSI/ISO C 1990 ISO Committee
C99 1999 Standardization Committee

Applications of C

Mainly C Language is used for Developing Desktop applications and system softwares. Some application of C language are given below.

  • Operating Systems
  • Interpreters
  • Assembly Programs
  • Text Editors
  • Compilers
  • Utilities

Because of its portability and efficiency C is also used for variety of applications running under nearly all operating systems.

The C language is used for developing

  • Database systems.
  • Graphics Packages.
  • Spread sheets.
  • CAD/CAM Applications.
  • Word processors.
  • Office Automations.
  • Scientific and Engineering Applications

Because of its power, elegance, and portability, C will probably continue to flourish as preferred software development tool.

Simple Program In C



The main() function:

This is the function with which the operating system will start execution. Each and every C program must have one and only main() function, defined as follows.

 Main()
 {
   variable declaration;
   program statements;
 }

variable Declarations:

All variables used in C language programs must declared. C variable declarations includes the name of the variable and its type.

Executable Statements:

executable statements must have variable declarations. An executable statement is an expression followed by semicolon or a control construct such as IF or an WHILE statement.