I learned C in a college class where we built a simulated computer from transistors up through assemble before moving to C. From that perspective the K&R C book

I learned C in a college class where we built a simulated computer from transistors up through assemble before moving to C. From that perspective the K&R C book is fantastically elegant: you can really see why C is sometimes described as a "portable assembly" because it maps closely to assembly instructions and conventions. As a first language above assembly, it's a fantastic language for doing work on limited systems. As a modern application language in the current world of high level abstractions like Unicode and the Internet, it's simply too simple. It was designed for and works relatively well for systems thst you understand completely all the way down to the metal