I know most of the quants use C++/C#/java/Matlab/VBA for modeling. Very rarely, I have seen C required in a job advertisement. Do some banks let quants use the language they are most familiar with or do the impose the language the banks use? Libraries such as NAG use a lot of C, so i presume some banks like C ??

I suppose all C++ programmers use C, in one form or another, to an extent. It's a kind of subset of C++, yes? Having a knowledge of C is a great preparation for C++, interview questions for example

>> How popular is C ?it ranks 12 out of 26:Letter Frequency in the English Language e t a o i n s r h l d c u m f p g w y b v k x j q z

Good answer!Thank you Cuchulainn. I agree, C is a great preparation for C++. I use a lot of C in my C++ codes and it does help a lot.

QuoteOriginally posted by: wallstreetGood answer!Thank you Cuchulainn. I agree, C is a great preparation for C++. I use a lot of C in my C++ codes and it does help a lot.hi Wallstreet,I knew a guy once who had done a lot of C and having that foundatiom meant he could learn any other language. He learned the fundamentals well. Actually, Java was based on C.I use C functions for what I call 'mechanisms' ... groups of C functions in a namespace (for example max(const vector<T>& v) ) instead of (slightly silly) static functions. Then I can reuse the mechanism functions in higher-level OO classes and subsystems.For me, I learned C++ first and when I made too many mistakes I decided to learn C. This is the wrong order IMHO.QuoteC#/java/Matlab/VBAThese are fine languages to learn. But to really understand what is going on you need to have C.My final rant When you know C well, you know pointers and references

C is great because being a relatively low level language it forces you to learn about what goes on "under the hood", e.g. pointer manipulation, memory management etc. which IMO makes for a better developer.On the other hand, I don't think it really prepares you well for the transition to developing within an object orientated framework.In answer to your question, I don't know of any firms which actively develop using C at present. A lot of banks had developed C analytic libraries in the 90s so maybe there is still some legacy code floating around. Also, most banks have pretty strict policies regarding software development so, no, quants don't get to choose which language they use.

I do not work for finance company yet. I certainly would like to. From my experience to work on compilers, C can be used to write the code on the critical path where you want to have full control rather than let compiler do the optimizations. C is quite close to the Assembly performance if you are doing a good job and it avoids a lot of maintenance headache comparing to use Assembly. Also C++ function name are mangled while C function name is not. It is difficult to write your own linker and loader or link C++ objects from 2 different compilers. I guess you do not need to do this much in finance company.

QuoteOn the other hand, I don't think it really prepares you well for the transition to developing within an object orientated framework.Yes and no, depends on the person.Knew one guy who made his own OO systems using struct and function pointers.BW, do you use C99? http://www.wilmott.com/messageview.cfm? ... SGDBTABLE=

C is not really used at all; C++ seems to be the preferred language. Whether that is justified or not is a different question. IT certainly have a tendency to over-engineer everything.As to whether you can choose which language you use; that depends on which desk you work. Our prop-desk has quants and they do what they want, C#, C++, Python, Java.

QuoteOriginally posted by: Cuchulainn...When you know C well, you know pointers and referencesPointers yes, references no.

QuoteOriginally posted by: wallstreetI use a lot of C in my C++ codesYou should try to get out of that habit