A programming language originally developed for implementation of the UNIX operating system. C is the preferred language for systems software development in the UNIX environment, and is widely used on personal computers. It combines the control and data structures of a modern high-level language with the ability to address the machine hardware at a level more usually associated with assembly language. The terse syntax is attractive to professional programmers, and the compilers generate very efficient object code. C is derived from BCPL, via a short-lived predecessor B.

http://www.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/www/docs/n1256.pdf The current C standard