Conclusion

C is a high-level programming language with portable assembler characteristics. The fact that it can be used on any computer, and that it has a long-proven portable kernel, makes it a major development language.

On the other hand, it's also a language that doesn't try to hide the underlying CPU. References, allocation mechanisms and the multiplicity of types are very important concepts that are tricky to master. For programmers, it offers both precision and comfort.

C is the language of choice for embedded systems, for writing programs close to the machine, for programs requiring portability or for coupling different languages. For all these reasons, C will remain in use for several decades to come.