B programming language - Revision history

Jnc: Update Bell Labs URLs (blast Nokia)

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Update Bell Labs URLs (blast Nokia)

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Jnc: /* External links */ + B compiler re-creation

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‎External links: + B compiler re-creation

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Add name

Jnc: /* Further reading */ typo

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‎Further reading: typo

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typo

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‎External links: one more

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‎External links: Add docs there

Jnc: A pretty good start

2019-01-10T17:18:13Z

A pretty good start

New page

The '''B''' [[programming language]] was an intermediary between [[BCPL]] and [[C programming language|C]]; very roughly, it is typeless, like BCPL, but has C's syntax.

In 1969, Doug McIlroy created an implementation of [[TMG]] for the early [[UNIX]] system (on the [[PDP-7]]); this inspired Ken Thompson to produce a [[compiler]] for the machine, which started out to be [[FORTRAN]], but rapidly became the first version of B. The B compiler was re-written from TMG into B itself; apparently all versions produced [[threaded code]], not [[object code]].

Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], itself in B, which produced object code for a [[GE 635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after Honeywell bought out GE's computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by a Bell Labs alumnus who went there for a while).

The later move of B (the threaded code version) to the [[byte]]-[[address]]ed [[PDP-11]] showed the limitation of the [[word]]-addressing model of BCPL and B, and resulted in the creation of C.

One interesting historical note: the B tutorial contains the first known instance of a [[Hello, world]] [[program]].

==External links==

* [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bintro.html The Programming Language B]

==Further reading==

Dennis M. Ritchie, ''The Development of the C Language'', Second History of Programming Languages conference, Cambridge, Mass., April, 1993; re-printed in ''History of Programming Languages-II eds. Thomas J. Bergin, Jr. and Richard G. Gibson, Jr. ACM Press (New York) and Addison-Wesley (Reading, Mass), 1996

{{semi-stub}}

[[Category: Languages]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''B''' [[programming language]] was an intermediary between [[BCPL]] and [[C programming language|C]]; very roughly, it is typeless, like BCPL, but has C's syntax.
+The '''B''' [[programming language]] was an intermediary between [[BCPL]] and [[C programming language|C]]; very roughly, it is [[type]]less, like BCPL, but has C's [[syntax]].
-In 1969, Doug McIlroy created an implementation of [[TMG]] for the early [[UNIX]] system (on the [[PDP-7]]); this inspired Ken Thompson to produce a [[compiler]] for the machine, which started out to be [[FORTRAN]], but rapidly became the first version of B. The B compiler was then re-written from TMG into B itself; apparently all versions produced [[threaded code]], not [[object code]].
+In 1969, Doug McIlroy created an implementation of [[TMG]] for the early [[UNIX]] system (on the [[PDP-7]]); this inspired Ken Thompson to produce a [[compiler]] for the machine, which started out to be [[FORTRAN]], but rapidly became the first version of B. That B compiler was then re-written from TMG into B itself; apparently all versions produced [[threaded code]], not [[object code]].
 Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], also in B, which produced object code for a [[GE-635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after [[Honeywell]] bought out [[General Electric|GE]]'s computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7 version limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by Steve Johnson, who went there in 1972 for a sabbatical).
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 {{semi-stub}}
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bintro.html The Programming Language B]
+* S. C. Johnson, B. W. Kernighan, [https://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/bintro.html ''The Programming Language B'']
-** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/btut.html A Tutorial Introduction to the Language B]
+** B. W. Kernighan, [https://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/btut.html  ''A Tutorial Introduction to the Programming Language B'']
-** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/kbman.html User's Reference to B]
+** Ken Thompson, [http://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/kbman.html ''User's Reference to B'']
-** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bref.html User's Reference to B on MH-TSS]
+** S. C. Johnson, [http://www.nokia.com/bell-labs/about/dennis-m-ritchie/bref.html ''User's Reference to B on MH-TSS'']
 * [https://github.com/aap/b/tree/master/unix1_bdir B compiler] - a project to re-create it
 [[Category: Languages]]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 In 1969, Doug McIlroy created an implementation of [[TMG]] for the early [[UNIX]] system (on the [[PDP-7]]); this inspired Ken Thompson to produce a [[compiler]] for the machine, which started out to be [[FORTRAN]], but rapidly became the first version of B. The B compiler was then re-written from TMG into B itself; apparently all versions produced [[threaded code]], not [[object code]].
-Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], also in B, which produced object code for a [[GE 635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after Honeywell bought out GE's computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7 version limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by Steve Johnson, who went there in 1972 for a sabbatical).
+Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], also in B, which produced object code for a [[GE-635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after [[Honeywell]] bought out [[General Electric|GE]]'s computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7 version limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by Steve Johnson, who went there in 1972 for a sabbatical).
 The later move of B (the threaded code version) to the [[byte]]-[[address]]ed [[PDP-11]] showed the limitation of the [[word]]-addressing model of BCPL and B, and resulted in the creation of C.
 One interesting historical note: the B tutorial (below) contains the first known instance of a [[Hello, world]] [[program]].
 ==External links==
@@ Line 20: / Line 22: @@
 Dennis M. Ritchie, [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/chist.html ''The Development of the C Language''], Second History of Programming Languages conference, Cambridge, Mass., April, 1993; re-printed in ''History of Programming Languages-II'' eds. Thomas J. Bergin, Jr. and Richard G. Gibson, Jr. ACM Press (New York) and Addison-Wesley (Reading, Mass), 1996
 [[Category: Languages]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/kbman.html User's Reference to B]
 ** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bref.html User's Reference to B on MH-TSS]
 ==Further reading==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 In 1969, Doug McIlroy created an implementation of [[TMG]] for the early [[UNIX]] system (on the [[PDP-7]]); this inspired Ken Thompson to produce a [[compiler]] for the machine, which started out to be [[FORTRAN]], but rapidly became the first version of B. The B compiler was then re-written from TMG into B itself; apparently all versions produced [[threaded code]], not [[object code]].
-Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], also in B, which produced object code for a [[GE 635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after Honeywell bought out GE's computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7 version limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by a Bell Labs alumnus who went there for a while).
+Dennis Ritchie then produced a [[cross-compiler]], also in B, which produced object code for a [[GE 635]]. (It was later moved to the [[Honeywell 6000 series|Honeywell 6070]], after Honeywell bought out GE's computer division.) This became quite popular (the use of threaded code in the PDP-7 version limited its efficiency, and thus use, there), especially at the University of Waterloo in Canada (where it was taken by Steve Johnson, who went there in 1972 for a sabbatical).
 The later move of B (the threaded code version) to the [[byte]]-[[address]]ed [[PDP-11]] showed the limitation of the [[word]]-addressing model of BCPL and B, and resulted in the creation of C.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 * [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bintro.html The Programming Language B]
 ** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/btut.html A Tutorial Introduction to the Language B]
 ** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bref.html User's Reference to B on MH-TSS]

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:35, 10 January 2019
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	* [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bintro.html The Programming Language B]		* [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bintro.html The Programming Language B]
		+	** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/btut.html A Tutorial Introduction to the Language B]
		+	** [http://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/bref.html User's Reference to B on MH-TSS]

	==Further reading==		==Further reading==