Computers need programming languages to function. That’s just a simple fact of life. However, these languages didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. They were developed by people for explicit purposes.

For the rest of the history of modern programming languages -- because C was really just the beginning! -- check out the infographic below. You can click it to zoom in.

PUTAL, SLOVENIA - FEBRUARY 5: Davor, a 53 year old programmer writes code and works on computer in Putal, Slovenia. (Photo by Matic Zorman/Getty Images) From the moment hand prints emerged on cave ...

Just as some spoken languages have faded into history, programming languages also face the risk of obsolescence and extinction. But what is a dead programming language, and how does it die? Is it ...