C is a general-purpose
programming language and it started to run under Unix environment. C is closely
associated with Unix, because the operating system itself and majority of its
supporting application programs are written in C. However, this doesn't mean
that C could only run under Unix operating system environment. As a matter of
fact, C can run almost any hardware and software platforms available in the
world today.
Dr.
Dennis Ritchie invented the C programming language AT&T Bell
Laboratories, New Jersey, U.S.A. in early 1970s. Since C is similar to Pascal,
a structured-programming language; it provides the fundamental control-flow for
well-designed programs.
C is
considered as middle-level programming language, because it combined the power
of low-level language (such as Assembly language) and the elegance of
high-level language like Pascal. This further means that C language can
directly manipulate the bits, bytes, and even the computer hardware memory
addresses. This makes C powerful, and the best tool for systems programming.
Systems programming is aimed in designing and developing operating systems,
compilers, interpreters, database, software, and other sophisticated
software.