C (programming language)

C is a programming language designed by at AT&T in 1972 for systems programming on the and immediately used to reimplement Unix.
==History==
It was called "C" because many features were derived from Ritchie's earlier compiler, developed with , named "". In fact, C was briefly named "NB". B was itself strongly influenced by . Before settled the question by designing , there was a humorous debate over whether C's successor should be named "D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL"). Ritchie's original C is known as after Kernighan and Ritchie's book. A modified version has been as .. 1996-06-01.
===Reception===
Partly due to its distribution with Unix, C became immensely popular outside after about 1980 and is now the dominant language in systems and microcomputer applications programming. It has grown popular due to its simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility. C is terse, low-level, and permissive; its programs are often easily adapted to new environments. It includes its own macro known as .
C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain, as "a language that combines all the elegance and power of assembly language with all the readability and maintainability of assembly language".
==References==
==See also==
*Objective-C, an object-oriented variant used by Apple.
==External links==
*ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG14 - C official homepage
*The Development of the C Language by Dennis Ritchie
* at Wikipedia
Category:Programming languages
Category:1972 introductions