Operating Systems: Almost every modern OS, including Linux, Windows, macOS, and even microkernel systems, has its kernel written predominantly in C.
Compilers: The compilers for many higher-level languages (e.g., GCC, Clang) are either written in C or C++ (itself derived from C).
Network Stacks: C dominates the implementation of networking protocols. Browser engines, routers, and switches heavily rely on C for their performance-critical network stacks.
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all have engines written in C or C++ (e.g., Blink, Gecko, WebKit). These engines drive the rendering of the web.
Database Systems: Many databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) rely on C for their core implementations due to its speed and fine-grained control over resources.
If you think this paper is pro-C++, read it again:
> many languages like C++ or Java are now old enough that if they would have
> offered significant advantage over C, they should have supplanted C by now,
> this clearly hasn’t happened.
I don't agree with all the points though and the rhetoric is pretty weak IMO, like the point about cars being safe for pedestrians.
But I agree with the points about C being simple and having great tooling (thanks to being simple).
Compilers: The compilers for many higher-level languages (e.g., GCC, Clang) are either written in C or C++ (itself derived from C).
Network Stacks: C dominates the implementation of networking protocols. Browser engines, routers, and switches heavily rely on C for their performance-critical network stacks.
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all have engines written in C or C++ (e.g., Blink, Gecko, WebKit). These engines drive the rendering of the web.
Database Systems: Many databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) rely on C for their core implementations due to its speed and fine-grained control over resources.