C Introduction
C is a general-purpose, procedural programming language created by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Labs. It gave rise to many modern languages such as C++, Java, C# and JavaScript, and it is still widely used for operating systems, embedded devices and performance-critical software.
C is a compiled language, meaning source code is translated into machine code before it runs. This makes C programs fast, but it also means you must understand memory and types more closely than in higher-level languages.
Why learn C?
C teaches you how computers actually work — memory, pointers, and low-level operations. Learning C makes it much easier to understand other languages later, since so many are built on its ideas.
Where is C used?
Operating systems (Linux, Windows kernels), embedded systems (microcontrollers, IoT), databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL internals), and performance-critical applications all rely heavily on C.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World!\n");
return 0;
}Hello, World!This is the classic first C program that prints text to the screen.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("C is fun!\n");
return 0;
}C is fun!Every C program needs a main() function as its entry point.
Key points
- C was created by Dennis Ritchie in 1972.
- C is compiled, procedural, and statically typed.
- Many modern languages are influenced by C.
- C is used in OS kernels, embedded systems and performance-critical code.