# C Programming Language
Status: public
Confidence: high (0.865) (verified)
Last verified: 2026-05-25
Generation: ai_structured


## TL;DR

C is a general-purpose systems programming language developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. It remains important because it combines a small language core with direct control over memory, layout, and runtime behavior.

## Core Features

- **Manual memory management**: allocation and release are programmer-controlled.
- **Pointers**: programs can work directly with addresses and object layouts.
- **Preprocessor**: macros and conditional compilation support portable builds.
- **Static typing**: types are checked at compile time.
- **Portability with care**: C is standardized, but low-level code still depends on platform details.

## Further Reading

- [ISO/IEC 9899:2024 Programming languages C](https://www.iso.org/standard/82075.html)
- [The C Programming Language](https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/Kernighan-C-Programming-Language-2nd-Edition/PGM54486.html)
- [The Development of the C Language](https://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/chist.html)

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