Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!mcnc!decvax!decwrl!sun!amdcad!ames!necntc!linus!philabs!micomvax!ray
From: ray@micomvax.UUCP (Ray Dunn)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: The history of C (was Re: C critisisms)
Message-ID: <883@micomvax.UUCP>
Date: 13 Jan 88 23:00:11 GMT
References: <11075@brl-adm.ARPA> <145@snark.UUCP> <881@micomvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: ray@micomvax.UUCP (Ray Dunn)
Organization: ^
Lines: 18

Since posting my article on BCPL agreeing with Eric Raymond's view that the
name stands for "British Common Programming Language" (or in fact as I just
type this, it occurs to me that it was "British Computer Programming
Language"!!),  I have seen several postings which lead me to believe that
perhaps the picture is being confused by two DIFFERENT languages called
BCPL, perhaps one in the UK and one in the US.  This was the thought which
stopped me posting an earlier response on the subject until I saw Eric's
article.

Somehow though I don't think so, as the BCPL I new in the 60's/70's WAS
a language designed for system programming.  Really digging into the
haze of time, was it developed in London?  Imperial College??  I still
think the designer's name was Hendry.

Any further authoritative comments from the net?  In particular, was the
predecessor of B developed in the US or the UK??

Ray Dunn.  ..philabs!micomvax!ray