Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!noao!mcdsun!sunburn!gtx!scm
From: scm@gtx.com (Sue Miller)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: The history of C (in re: BCPL)
Message-ID: <529@gtx.com>
Date: 16 Jan 88 08:04:14 GMT
References: <11075@brl-adm.ARPA> <145@snark.UUCP> <881@micomvax.UUCP> <883@micomvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: scm@gtx.UUCP (Sue Miller)
Organization: GTX Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona
Lines: 35

In article <883@micomvax.UUCP> ray@micomvax.UUCP (Ray Dunn) writes:
+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


Well, I don't know anything but what I read here in K&R (genuflect, please).
According to page 2 of Chapter 0, BCPL (whatever it stands for) was developed
by Martin Richards (whoever he is).  Too bad we don't have his phone number,
we could give him a call and he could settle this for us...thereby freeing
up our time in order that we may argue about other earth-shaking matters.

 ;-) **16



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~   Sue Miller   {ihnp4,cbosgd,decvax,hplabs,seismo}!sun!sunburn!gtx!scm ~
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