BCPL - Revision history

Jnc: An early example of cross-machine bootstrapping

2025-09-20T14:12:48Z

An early example of cross-machine bootstrapping

Ak120 at 11:47, 13 June 2025

2025-06-13T11:47:02Z

Jnc: /* External links */ Update Bell Labs URLs (blast Nokia)

2025-06-11T21:09:48Z

‎External links: Update Bell Labs URLs (blast Nokia)

Jnc: /* External links */ Format; add hdr

2025-04-07T21:13:43Z

‎External links: Format; add hdr

Jnc: /* External links */ +History of BCPL

2025-02-18T21:25:45Z

‎External links: +History of BCPL

Jnc: /* External links */ +The main features of CPL

2025-01-20T22:37:03Z

‎External links: +The main features of CPL

Jnc: /* External links */ +CPL Elementary Programming Manual

2025-01-20T22:27:53Z

‎External links: +CPL Elementary Programming Manual

Jnc: /* External links */ +“A damn stupid thing to do” - has good coverage of the CPL story

2024-07-08T16:14:32Z

‎External links: +“A damn stupid thing to do” - has good coverage of the CPL story

Jnc: /* External links */ +How BCPL evolved from CPL

2024-07-07T19:07:13Z

‎External links: +How BCPL evolved from CPL

Larsbrinkhoff: MUD1

2023-06-20T05:42:10Z

MUD1

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 The compiler was structured as three phases, the third of which converted a machine-independent intermediate language called OCODE, generated by the second phase, into the target machine's [[object code]].
-Porting the compiler involved writing a new third phase; compiling that with the existing compiler on the host machine, producing a [[cross-compiler]]; and then running the compiler itself through the cross-compiler, producing object code for a native compiler for the target machine.
+Porting the compiler involved writing a new third phase; compiling that with the existing compiler on the host machine, producing a [[cross-compiler]]; and then running the compiler itself through the cross-compiler, producing object code for a native compiler for the target machine - an early example of cross-machine [[bootstrap]]ping of [[portable]] code.
 ==External links==
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 * [https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1476793.1476880 BCPL: a tool for compiler writing and system programming], Richards 1969
 * [http://www.softwarepreservation.net/projects/BCPL History of BCPL] - a wealth of material, including many compilers
 * [https://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/CPL/ CPL] - a collection of interesting CPL material
 ** [https://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/CPL/The_Main_Features_of_CPL.pdf The main features of CPL]
 ** [https://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/CPL/CPL_Elementary_Programming_Manual.pdf CPL Elementary Programming Manual]
 * [https://arstechnica.com/features/2020/12/a-damn-stupid-thing-to-do-the-origins-of-c/ “A damn stupid thing to do” — the origins of C] - has good coverage of the CPL story

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:47, 13 June 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	'''BCPL''' is a [[programming language]] that was first developed in the late ~~1960's~~. Although little-used ~~nowdays~~, it is historically important as the [[C programming language]] is derived from it. (C can be crisply, and aptly, described as 'BCPL with [[type]]s and terser [[syntax]]'.)	+	'''BCPL''' is a [[programming language]] that was first developed in the late 1960s. Although little-used nowadays, it is historically important as the [[C programming language]] is derived from it. (C can be crisply, and aptly, described as 'BCPL with [[type]]s and terser [[syntax]]'.)

	Like [[ALGOL]], from which it is descended, it includes modern [[control flow]], including 'block structure'. Unlike Algol, it did not have types; the only type supported was '[[word]]'.		Like [[ALGOL]], from which it is descended, it includes modern [[control flow]], including 'block structure'. Unlike Algol, it did not have types; the only type supported was '[[word]]'.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==External links==
-* [https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bcpl.html Martin Richards's BCPL Reference Manual, 1967]
+* [https://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/bcpl.html Martin Richards's BCPL Reference Manual, 1967]
-** [https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bcpl.pdf BCPL Reference Manual]
+** [https://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/bcpl.pdf BCPL Reference Manual]
 * [https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1476793.1476880 BCPL: a tool for compiler writing and system programming], Richards 1969
 * [http://www.softwarepreservation.net/projects/BCPL History of BCPL] - a wealth of material, including many compilers

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 * [https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mr10/cpl2bcpl.pdf How BCPL evolved from CPL]
 * [https://arstechnica.com/features/2020/12/a-damn-stupid-thing-to-do-the-origins-of-c/ “A damn stupid thing to do” — the origins of C] - has good coverage of the CPL story
 * [https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mr10/BCPLCTSS.html CTSS BCPL] (from MIT)
 * [https://people.csail.mit.edu/saltzer/Multics/Multics-Documents/MSPM/bz-6-00.680618.bcpl-overview.pdf Multics BCPL]
 * [http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/mit/tx-2/TX-2_BCPL_Reference_Manual_May69.pdf TX-2 BCPL manual, 1969]
-* [https://github.com/PDP-10/essex-bcpl Essex BCPL] for TOPS-10.
+* [https://github.com/PDP-10/essex-bcpl Essex BCPL] for TOPS-10
-* [https://github.com/PDP-10/tenex-bcpl TENEX BCPL] from BBN - source code only.
+* [https://github.com/PDP-10/tenex-bcpl TENEX BCPL] from BBN - source code only
 * [http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/xerox/alto/bcpl/ Alto BCPL]
 * [http://bitsavers.org/pdf/aarhusUniversity/md/MD-38_The_RIKKE_BCPL_System_Sep80.pdf The RIKKE BCPL System]
-* [https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/BCPL Arnor BCPL] for Amstrad CPC and PCW computers.
+* [https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/BCPL Arnor BCPL] for Amstrad CPC and PCW computers
-* [https://github.com/LardoBoffin/BBC-BCPL_Overview Acornsoft BCPL] for the BBC Micro.
+* [https://github.com/LardoBoffin/BBC-BCPL_Overview Acornsoft BCPL] for the BBC Micro
 [[Category: Languages]]

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ** [https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bcpl.pdf BCPL Reference Manual]
 * [https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1476793.1476880 BCPL: a tool for compiler writing and system programming], Richards 1969
 * [https://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/CPL/ CPL] - a collection of interesting CPL material
 ** [https://www.ancientgeek.org.uk/CPL/The_Main_Features_of_CPL.pdf The main features of CPL]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 It was intended by Martin Richards, its designer, mostly for systems programming (such as [[operating system]]s, [[compiler]]s, etc), for which the type limitation was not severe. (The lack of any support for [[floating point]] made it a poor choice for classic computational [[application]]s, the main use of computers at the time.)
-BCPL was also used in a number of other significant places, including much of the early work on the [[Xerox Alto]].
+BCPL was also used in a number of other significant places, including much of the early work on the [[Xerox Alto]] and the first [[Multi-User Dungeon]].
 ==History==