Choosing the C library

The programming interface to the Unix operating system is defined in the C language, which is now defined by the POSIX standards. The C library is the implementation of that interface; it is the gateway to the kernel for Linux programs, as shown in the following diagram. Even if you are writing programs in another language, maybe Java or Python, the respective run-time support libraries will have to call the C library eventually:

Choosing the C library

The C library is the gateway to the kernel for applications

Whenever the C library needs the services of the kernel it will use the kernel system call interface to transition between user space and ...

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