C Programming

C is a powerful, flexible language that provides fast program execution and imposes few constraints on the programmer. It allows low level access to information and commands while still retaining the portability and syntax of a high level language. These qualities make it a useful language for both systems programming and general purpose programs.
C's power and fast program execution come from it's ability to access low level commands, similar to assembly language, but with high level syntax.

It's flexibility comes from the many ways the programmer has to accomplish the same tasks. C includes bitwise operators along with powerful pointer manipulation capabilities. C imposes few constraints on the programmer. The main area this shows up is in C's lack of type checking. This can be a powerful advantage to an experienced programmer but a dangerous disadvantage to a novice.
Another strong point of C is it's use of modularity. Sections of code can be stored in libraries for re-use in future programs. This concept of modularity also helps with C's portability and execution speed. The core C language leaves out many features included in the core of other languages. These functions are instead stored in the C Standard Library where they can be called on when needed.. An example of this concept would be C's lack of built in I/O capabilities. I/O functions tend to slow down program execution and also be machine independent when running optimally. For these reasons, they are stored in a library separately from the C language and only included when necessary.
C is often called a middle-level computer language. This does not mean that C is less powerful, harder to use, or less developed than a high-level language such as Pascal; nor does it imply that C is similar to, or presents the problems associated with, assembly language. The definition of C as a middle-level language means that it combines elements of high-level languages with the functionalism of assembly language. As a middle-level language, C allows the manipulation of bits, bytes, and addresses—the basic elements with which the computer functions. Despite this fact, C code is surprisingly portable. Portability means that it is possible to adapt software written for one type of computer to another. For example, if a program written for one type of CPU can be moved easily to another, that program is portable. All high-level programming languages support the concept of data types. A data type defines a set of values that a variable can store along with a set of operations that can be performed on that variable. Common data types are integer, character, and real. Although C has several basic built-in data types, it is not a strongly typed language like Pascal or Ada. In fact, C will allow almost all type conversions. For example, character and integer types may be freely intermixed in most expressions. Traditionally C performs no run-time error checking such as array-boundary checking or argument-type compatibility checking. These checks are the responsibility of the programmer. A special feature of C is that it allows the direct manipulation of bits, bytes, words, and pointers. This makes it well suited for system-level programming, where these operations are common. Another important aspect of C is that it has only 32 keywords (5 more were added by C99, but these are not supported by C++), which are the commands that make up the C language. This is far fewer than most other languages.