Why I like C
General Update Stuff
I haven’t been able to post in a couple of days. I thought I would update things. Also, because I sometimes don’t have access to my primary server, I want my readers to know there is a backup. You can also reach me here. I keep a Codeberg page. I can sometimes upload to it quicker.
I like to write code in C. Why would I say such a thing?
First, C is not a better language than others. It has its good and bad points, just as any language does. There are many good languages out there and you should try several. After struggling with several languages, you can decide which ones are best for you and your purposes. I tried learning C, python, Java, javascript, html, Go, Nim, and Erlang. I like Erlang; odd language, it is. But, Erlang is ridiculously powerful.
Second, I like simplicity. C is still one of the simplest languages to learn its syntax. Java has so many features to make things easier or more elegant, but I struggle to learn all of them. I have done pretty well and Java fills a lot of checkboxes for me in my programming. Still, I find myself working in a subset and not the entire language. Tradeoffs.
Third, I already said I belong to the “No Black Boxes” club. C is one of the best at not hiding what it is doing. Many smarter than I have noted that it is the closest programming language to what the machine runs. When Ken Thompson wrote C it was on an early DEC PDP with not giga- or mega- bytes of memory but kilobytes. And, not many of those. There was no room for niceties.
Fourth, its biggest fault is its feature. C is dangerous. It can do anything. However, I don’t know of it ever bricking a computer, so there is that. However, you are in control, even of the bad programming. C is not forgiving. On the other hand, C will give you control over many aspects of the machine that other languages limit. You do have to learn to write well, which is not for everyone. Yet, for me, I’d rather struggle at a worthy task and do an easy task with little worth.
Finally, C is my nostalgia. As my first compiled language that I learned, C still hits a soft spot within me. It’s comfortable even if I have to work at it. It is elegant and even though I don’t do pretty, sometimes, written and working C is just pretty.
There you have it. Just a short diatribe. Happy coding!