Jul 9, 2023

C Tutorial

C programming is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative computer programming language developed in 1972 by Dennis M. Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories to develop the UNIX operating system. C is the most widely used computer language. It keeps fluctuating at number one scale of popularity along with Java programming language, which is also equally popular and most widely used among modern software programmers.

Why to Learn C Programming?

C programming language is a MUST for students and working professionals to become a great Software Engineer specially when they are working in Software Development Domain. Here are some of the important reasons why you should learn C Programming −

It is a structured programming language and you can use the skills learned in C to master other programming languages.
You can use C program to write efficient codes and develop robust projects.
C is a low-level language and you can use it to interact more directly with the computer’s hardware and memory.

Facts about C

C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language. Most of the state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C. Here are some facts about the C language:

C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX. The UNIX OS was totally written in C.
C is a successor of B language which was introduced around the early 1970s.
The language was formalized in 1988 by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).

Hello World using C Programming

Just to give you a little excitement about C programming, I’m going to give you a small conventional C Programming Hello World program. You can run it here using the “Edit and Run” button.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

   /* my first program in C */
   printf("Hello, World! \n");

   return 0;
}

Applications of C Programming

C was initially used for system development work, particularly the programs that make-up the operating system. C was adopted as a system development language because it produces code that runs nearly as fast as the code written in assembly language. Some examples of the use of C are -

Operating Systems
Language Compilers
Assemblers
Text Editors
Print Spoolers
Network Drivers
Modern Programs
Databases
Language Interpreters
Utilities

Audience

This tutorial is designed for software programmers with a need to understand the C programming language starting from scratch. This C tutorial will give you enough understanding on C programming language from where you can take yourself to higher level of expertise.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Computer Programming terminologies. A basic understanding of any of the programming languages will help you in understanding the C programming concepts and move fast on the learning track.