The C programming language was developed in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Laboratories (now known as Nokia Bell Labs). Its creation was closely linked with the development of the UNIX operating system, which was also being developed at Bell Labs.
ALGOL: A high-level programming language that influenced many later languages, including C.
BCPL: Developed by Martin Richards in the mid-1960s, BCPL (Basic Combined Programming Language) was designed for writing system software and had a significant influence on the development of C.
B Language: Created by Ken Thompson, the B language was a simplified version of BCPL and was used in the early development of the UNIX operating system. However, B lacked data types and other features that were necessary for system programming.
1971-1972: Dennis Ritchie began developing C by incorporating features from B and adding data types and other capabilities that made it suitable for system programming.
1973: C was implemented on the UNIX operating system, and much of the UNIX kernel was rewritten in C. This transition demonstrated the power and flexibility of the language.
1978: Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie published "The C Programming Language," also known as "K&R C." This book became the definitive reference for the language and contributed significantly to its widespread adoption.
1983: The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established a committee to standardize the C language. This led to the creation of ANSI C.
1989: The ANSI C standard, also known as "C89," was published. It provided a stable and well-defined version of the language that could be used across different platforms.
1990: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adopted the ANSI C standard with minor modifications, resulting in the "C90" standard.
1999: A new standard, "C99," was introduced, adding several new features, including inline functions, variable-length arrays, and new data types.
2011: The "C11" standard was released, incorporating further enhancements and addressing issues from previous versions.
2018: The "C18" standard was introduced, which included minor revisions and clarifications to C11.
C has had a profound impact on the world of programming and has influenced many subsequent languages, including:
• C++: An extension of C with object-oriented features, developed by Bjarne Stroustrup.
• Java: A high-level, object-oriented language that drew inspiration from C and C++.
• C#: Developed by Microsoft, C# is influenced by C and C++ and is used primarily for developing Windows applications.
• Objective-C: An object-oriented extension of C, used primarily for macOS and iOS development.
C remains widely used today for various applications, including:
• System Programming: Operating systems, embedded systems, and device drivers.
• Game Development: Due to its efficiency and performance.
• Database Management Systems: Many database engines are written in C.
• Compiler Development: Compilers for many other programming languages are implemented in C.