A short history of C
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Where C came from
- Dennis Ritchie created C at Bell Labs around 1972.
- He needed it to write a brand-new operating system: Unix.
- His aim was a language that is small, fast, and close to the hardware.
Close to the machine
- Most languages hide the computer from you; C lets you work right next to it.
- You manage memory yourself — that is what makes C so fast and powerful.
- The same power is why C asks you to be careful and exact.
The famous book
- In 1978, Ritchie and Brian Kernighan wrote a slim book about C.
- People still call it "K&R", after its two authors.
- It was so clear that it taught a whole generation to program.
C today
- In 1989–1990, C got an official standard (ANSI/ISO), so it behaves the same everywhere.
- Newer editions like C17 and C23 keep it current.
- Fifty years on, C is still everywhere — that's the next lesson.
