What does the extension .c stands for in C

Question

I wasnt abe to find the meaning of the extension .c of the source files in C language. If the extension .h stands for header, then what .c stands for?

Perhaps what might be confusing for some people is that `.c` is lowercase whereas `C` is uppercase... — jotik, Mar 11 '16 at 09:45
I am tempted to upvote that question. Because I like it ;). .c could, however, mean ***c**ompiler input* and .C *input for the bigger compiler* — tofro, Mar 11 '16 at 10:26

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 11 '16 at 09:38

9

The C in .c stands for C. C is the name of the C programming language.

answered Mar 11 '16 at 09:38

4

didn't see that one coming... :)) – bolov Mar 11 '16 at 09:39
2

Indeed bolov. We can't verify that you didn't see that one coming if you don't cite any sources. – Mar 11 '16 at 09:41
@VeronikaPrüssels umm... common sense... – bolov Mar 11 '16 at 09:41
@VeronikaPrüssels Then `.cpp` comes from code plus plus... – bolov Mar 11 '16 at 09:42

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 11 '16 at 10:35

"The C in .c stands for C. C is the name of the C programming language", as Zoidberg said in his answer.

However, it should be noted that this is a convention, i.e. to name C source files with a .c extension. It could have been anything, but choosing ".c" makes common sense and everyone uses it. Even compilers and IDEs default to looking for .c files for C source files. As it is a "common sense" convention, it does not need to be documented. The container (the filename) is not described in the standard.

It would have been a common sense convention too to name them .KnR (why not).

What does the extension .c stands for in C

2 Answers2