C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose programming language that compiles to machine code and provides explicit control over memory and low-level operations. Its small core and portable implementations have made it widely used for operating systems and embedded software.

C compiler: A program that translates C source code into machine code or another target representation. C compilers turn its source into executable instructions, often through several compilation stages.
C standard library: The collection of functions and headers specified for C implementations, including facilities for input, memory, and mathematics. It supplies essential utilities without making them part of the language’s core syntax.
Dennis Ritchie: An American computer scientist who created C and co-developed the Unix operating system. Ritchie designed C at Bell Labs to support the development and portability of Unix.
Operating system: System software that manages computer hardware and provides services to application programs. C is widely used to implement kernels and system components that need direct control over resources.
C++: A general-purpose programming language that extends C with features including classes, templates, and stronger abstraction mechanisms. C++ shares much of C’s low-level heritage while offering a substantially larger language and abstraction toolkit.
C abstract machine: The language-level model that defines how conforming C programs behave. C specifies program behavior through an abstract machine rather than prescribing exact hardware instructions.
C integer types: C types for representing integer values, with ranges and widths that can depend on the implementation. Their implementation-dependent sizes affect portability, arithmetic, and the layout of data.
Ken Thompson: An American computer scientist who co-created Unix and made foundational contributions to programming languages and operating systems. Thompson’s work on B and Unix provided the immediate setting in which C emerged.
Embedded system: A computer integrated into a larger device to perform dedicated functions. C’s small runtime requirements and hardware access suit resource-constrained embedded devices.
Rust (programming language): A systems programming language designed to provide memory safety without a garbage collector. Rust targets many of C’s uses while checking important memory-safety properties at compile time.

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