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Indeed. C is generally called a general-purpose programming language (the first sentance of it's wikipedia even says that), as are most things we today consider

Indeed. C is generally called a general-purpose programming language (the first sentance of it's wikipedia even says that), as are most things we today consider... well, general-purpose programming languages. Wikipedia even has an article for "General-purpose (programming) language". This term is already taken and in use in computer science for decades, and used more broadly than apparently the OP would like. > A general-purpose language is a computer language that is broadly applicable across application domains, and lacks specialized features for a particular domain. This is in contrast to a domain-specific language (DSL), which is specialized to a particular application domain. The line is not always sharp, as a language may have specialized features for a particular domain but be applicable more broadly, or conversely may in principle be capable of broad application but in practice used primarily for a specific domain -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General-purpose_language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General-purpose_language If you're going to say it meaning something different by it you should probably say what you mean. It just sounds like a weird boast.

robbrown451 6y ago
It's kind of odd to call C a general purpose programming language today. When it came out, it was, just as it was a "high level" language, but would not be considered so today. These terms tend to be relative to other commonly used languages. I would probably say "While the goalposts are always moving as to what might be considered a 'general purpose programming language,' Objective S is, to my mind, the furthest in that direction so far." Wordier, but should rub fewer people the wrong way.
- tikhonj 6y ago
  C is a domain-specific language for writing security vulnerabilities :).
- pjmlp 6y ago
  Actually I have books that call it middle level language, because basic stuff like strings and arrays are Assembly like versus something like Modula-2.

robbrown451 6y ago

It's kind of odd to call C a general purpose programming language today. When it came out, it was, just as it was a "high level" language, but would not be considered so today. These terms tend to be relative to other commonly used languages. I would probably say "While the goalposts are always moving as to what might be considered a 'general purpose programming language,' Objective S is, to my mind, the furthest in that direction so far." Wordier, but should rub fewer people the wrong way.

tikhonj 6y ago
C is a domain-specific language for writing security vulnerabilities :).
pjmlp 6y ago
Actually I have books that call it middle level language, because basic stuff like strings and arrays are Assembly like versus something like Modula-2.