---
title: "The C Column"
type: "article"
slug: "the-c-column-3"
url: "http://localhost/article/the-c-column-3/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/the-c-column-3.md"
published_at: "2026-01-20T21:55:37+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-01-20T21:55:37+00:00"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg"
excerpt: "Hopefully last month’s column perked your interest in C. This month we'll take our first look at the language. C isa structured language similar to Pascal. Many of the same ideas and contructs are used. In C, all variables must be declared before used. The idea of functions encompasses SuperBasic’s ideas of procedures and functions.…"
category:
  - name: "CATS Newsletter"
    slug: "cats-newsletter"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/periodicals/cats-newsletter/"
post_tag:
  - name: "C (programming language)"
    slug: "c-programming-language"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/c-programming-language/"
indiv:
  - name: "Tim Swenson"
    slug: "tim-swenson"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/tim-swenson/"
publication_r:
  id: 35941
  title: "CATS Newsletter"
  type: "periodical"
  url: "http://localhost/periodical/cats-newsletter/"
authors_r:
  - name: "Tim Swenson"
    slug: "tim-swenson"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/tim-swenson/"
volume: "7"
issue: "12"
issues_articles:
  - id: 38909
    title: "CATS v7 n12"
    type: "issue"
    url: "http://localhost/issue/cats-v7-n12/"
pages: "4"
pubdate: "April 1990"
archive_link: false
---

Hopefully last month’s column perked your interest in C. This month we’ll take our first look at the language. C isa structured language similar to Pascal. Many of the same ideas and contructs are used. In C, all variables must be declared before used. The idea of functions encompasses SuperBasic’s ideas of procedures and functions. C has FOR, WHILE, and REPEAT UNTIL loops. IF statements are treated the same as in SuperBasic.