The difference is consistent: a compiled language generates a binary file that can be directly executed and distributed.Ĭ is not garbage collected. Other popular programming language like Python, Ruby or JavaScript are interpreted. I said compiler: C is a compiled programming language, like Go, Java, Swift or Rust. What C brought to the table was a language that was simple to implement and that had a compiler that could be easily ported to different machines. Once upon a time, this was not the case at all. Today we kind of take for granted that we can run a program written on a Mac on Windows or Linux, perhaps using Node.js or Python. When it was created, C was considered a high level language, because it was portable across machines. We can say that C code runs a good portion of the entire world.

The Linux kernel is built using C, and this also means that C powers the core of all Android devices. Today, C is widely used in embedded devices, and it powers most of the Internet servers, which are built using Linux. And I would say it's not the easiest language, because C is a rather low level programming language. I remember it being my second programming language ever, after Pascal.Ĭ is not just what students use to learn programming. It is used as the reference language for computer science courses all over the world, and it's probably the language that people learn the most in school along with Python and Java. It focuses on the core of the language, trying to simplify the more complex topics.Īnd note: You can get a PDF and ePub version of this C Beginner's Handbook here.Ĭ is probably the most widely known programming language. This handbook does not try to cover everything under the sun related to C.

This approach will give you a well-rounded overview of the language. You'll learn 80% of the C programming language in 20% of the time. This C Beginner's Handbook follows the 80/20 rule.

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