“C” is one of the most widely used programming languages till date. Its efficiency, reliability and machine independence make it a powerful programming language for developing programs and software without bothering about the hardware platforms where they would be executed.
C language serves best in the domains where speed and portability are important. Technically, no programming language outruns C language in its speed of execution. C is commonly used to develop programs for both application and system software. We’ll take a look at a number of reasons why one should learn C.
Brief History
C was developed by a person named Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Laboratories in the mid 1970s. The very first program written in C was the Unix operating system.
Even though it was initially developed for systems programming, C has emerged out as a powerful and flexible language which could be used for a number of applications, ranging from business applications to engineering.
The reason why C is more popular than other programming languages is because it.
Reasons for learning C
C has been existing for around 36 years. It is thus quite obvious that there is bulk of C source code available over the internet. This further means that there’s so much to use and to learn from.
With the growth of Information Technology, computer programming is becoming an essential skill for a lot of professions. Thus the future of computer programming is clearly bright. This means that learning a programming language could possibly increase the employment opportunities for both fresh graduates and experienced professionals.
Here are some strong reasons why you should learn C:
- C is the most widely used programming language in the IT industry (Below is the TIOBE programming community index calculated by requests on popular search engines).
- C is the primary language used in developing operating systems.
- The major high level languages like C++, Java, Perl, Python and C# have their basis in C.
- Once a person has learned C, he/she will find it relatively easier to learn any other programming language.
- C is one of the most commonly taught programming languages in all universities and educational institutions.
- C language requires significantly lesser memory than the other languages.
- C provides the great feature of memory allocation. Unlike most of the other programming languages, C allows the programmer to write directly to memory.
CAREER PROSPECTS
Since the applications of C language are quite vast, there are ever existing career opportunities in this domain. Here are some of the major areas where C is being used:
- C is largely used in programming the major existing operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X and iOS, Android, Linux and Unix.
- C is widely used in Embedded Systems Programming
- C is used to program hardware drivers.
- The major applications of languages like Python, Perl, PHP and MATLAB are all written in C.
- C is used to build compilers.
- A lot of 3D computer games are also developed using C.
OUR CONCLUSION
Learning C language is definitely worth the effort. Once you get proficient in C programming, you’ll find it easier to get hands on other programming languages.
If you’re a job applicant then any potential employer in the programming domain is likely to be influenced by your knowledge of C (even if the programming language associated with your job is some other language like C++ and Java).
Finally, we are well aware of the fact that Operating Systems are the primary power driving all the computers and mobile phones in this world and since C language is used in programming almost all the commonly used operating systems, there will always be an abundance of job opportunities in C programming.
ThinkVidya.com can help you find C programming instructors and institutes. Click her to find C programming classes.
Please leave your questions and feedback in the comments below.
2 Responses to Why Should You Learn “C” Language