Why do we still need C?
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2006-10-03 05:36:19 - Graham EllisThe C language is the bedrock of modern computing. So why is it that a company like Well House Consultants, who specialise in niche training, are running a C course? It's because the bedrock is something that, whilst it's there and vital, most people don't need to understand. I expect that most of you couldn't tell me very much about your home's foundations - how deep are they, what are they made of, what material do they lie on. And in the same way, C is vital to us all, but only a few of us need to learn it.
C is not an "object oriented" language (and if you've not come across "OO" and what it implies, that's a subject for another day). If you require the bedrock of C and also the extra facilities offered by OO, you can select C++ which offers compatability with C, and also the extra facilities. But note that they ARE offered at a price, and that price is a complexity that is not necessary for most people, and not necessary if the underlying C compatability can be foregone. That's why you have languages such as Java (from Sun) and C# (from MicroSoft) which are developed using the approach of C, and the power of object orientation, but without the C compatability and so without much of the low level coding that C's been so successful with.
Perhaps you're looking at a PHP script, or a piece of Python and saying "C isn't important to me". Actually, it is important. Your PHP and your Python are witten in C (Jython is written in Java and THAT has the underlying C level). Your web server is written in C. Your operating system is written in C. Don't undererestimate C - it is VITAL to you. It's just that it may not vital for you to undertand it.