- C distinguishes the lexical structure (the punctuators, identifiers, and numbers), the grammatical structure (syntax), and the semantics (meaning) of programs.
- All identifiers (names) must be declared so we know the properties of the concept they represent.
- All objects (things that we deal with) and functions (methods that we use to deal with things) must be defined; that is, we must specify how and where they come to be.
- Statements indicate how things are going to be done: iterations (for) repeat variations of certain tasks, function calls (printf(…)) delegate a task to a function, and function returns (return something;) go back where we came from.