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. I will list down some of the key advantages of learning C Programming:

• Easy to learn

• Structured language

• It produces efficient programs

• It can handle low-level activities

• It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms

Facts about C

• C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX.

• 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).

• The UNIX OS was totally written in C.

• Today C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language.

• Most of the state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C.

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 try it using Demo link.

#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.