   C     is quirky,  flawed,    and  an
   enormous   success.      Although accidents of   history
surely  helped,   it evidently    satisfied   a   need
    for  a   system  implementation    language    efficient
 enough   to  displace         assembly   language,
   yet sufficiently   abstract   and fluent    to describe
  algorithms   and     interactions    in a   wide   variety
of   environments.   
                     --      Dennis     M.        Ritchie