C is a general-purpose, procedural programming language developed by Dennis Ritchie in the early 1970s at Bell Labs. It was designed to be a simple, efficient, and flexible language that could be used for various applications ranging from system programming to application development.

Key features of the C programming language include:

Structured Language: C is a structured programming language that allows for clear program flow using functions, loops, and conditional statements.

Portability: C programs are portable, meaning they can run on different platforms with minimal or no modifications.

Efficiency: C provides low-level access to memory, allowing for direct manipulation, making it suitable for system programming and developing operating systems or embedded systems.

Rich Standard Library: C comes with a rich set of standard libraries that provide functions for tasks like input/output operations, string manipulation, mathematical computations, and more.