C (programming language): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:10, 11 July 2024

C is a general-purpose programming language that was developed in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs. It has since become one of the most widely used programming languages of all time, particularly in system programming, embedded systems, and operating systems.

History[edit]

C was developed as a successor to the B programming language, which itself was influenced by BCPL. The language was designed to provide low-level access to memory, a simple set of keywords, and a clean style. C was initially used for Unix operating system development, and its success led to its widespread adoption.

Features[edit]

C is known for its efficiency and control. Key features include:

Low-level access to memory
A small set of keywords
Pointers
Manual memory management
Structured programming constructs such as if, for, and while.

Syntax and Semantics[edit]

C's syntax is relatively simple and has influenced many other programming languages. It uses a combination of declarations and statements to define the structure and behavior of programs.

Data Types[edit]

C supports several basic data types:

Control Structures[edit]

C includes standard control structures such as:

Functions[edit]

Functions in C are defined using a return type, a function name, and a list of parameters. They can be declared before they are defined, allowing for function prototypes.

Standard Library[edit]

C comes with a standard library that provides many useful functions for tasks such as input/output, string manipulation, and mathematics. The standard library is defined in several header files, such as:

Influence[edit]

C has had a significant influence on many other programming languages, including:

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 [[file:The_C_Programming_Language_logo.svg|thumb|The C Programming Language logo]] [[file:Ken_n_dennis.jpg|thumb|Ken n dennis|left]] [[file:The_C_Programming_Language,_First_Edition_Cover_(2).svg|thumb|The C Programming Language, First Edition Cover (2)]]
-[[file:Hello_World_Brian_Kernighan_1974.jpg|thumb|Hello World Brian Kernighan 1974]] [[file:1999_ISO_C_Concepts.png|thumb|1999 ISO C Concepts]] {{Short description|General-purpose programming language}}
+[[file:Hello_World_Brian_Kernighan_1974.jpg|thumb|Hello World Brian Kernighan 1974]] [[file:1999_ISO_C_Concepts.png|thumb|1999 ISO C Concepts]]
 {{Infobox programming language
 | name = C
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 | developer = [[Bell Labs]]
 | latest release version = C18
-| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2018|06|18}}
 | typing = [[Static typing|Static]], [[Weak typing|weak]], [[Manifest typing|manifest]]
 | implementations = [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]], [[Clang]], [[Microsoft Visual C++|MSVC]]