From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Nov 14 09:11:02 2010 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1A7471065670 for ; Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:11:02 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from perryh@pluto.rain.com) Received: from agora.rdrop.com (agora.rdrop.com [199.26.172.34]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EC82E8FC13 for ; Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:11:01 +0000 (UTC) Received: from agora.rdrop.com (66@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by agora.rdrop.com (8.13.1/8.12.7) with ESMTP id oAE9AlBC025179 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA bits=256 verify=NOT); Sun, 14 Nov 2010 01:10:47 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from perryh@pluto.rain.com) Received: (from uucp@localhost) by agora.rdrop.com (8.13.1/8.12.9/Submit) with UUCP id oAE9AlKW025178; Sun, 14 Nov 2010 01:10:47 -0800 (PST) Received: from fbsd61 by pluto.rain.com (4.1/SMI-4.1-pluto-M2060407) id AA07421; Sun, 14 Nov 10 01:00:23 PST Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2010 01:00:35 -0800 From: perryh@pluto.rain.com To: perrin@apotheon.com Message-Id: <4cdfa533.KmbS7pHvQ3h+K92G%perryh@pluto.rain.com> References: <201011132032.oADKW4FG025920@mail.r-bonomi.com> <20101113220559.GE45921@guilt.hydra> In-Reply-To: <20101113220559.GE45921@guilt.hydra> User-Agent: nail 11.25 7/29/05 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: History of C (Re: Why do you use a devil as a mascot?) X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:11:02 -0000 Chad Perrin wrote: > On Sat, Nov 13, 2010 at 02:32:04PM -0600, Robert Bonomi wrote: > > should the one-leter name for 'c++' be 'd' or 'p'? > > (nobody could decide/agree, which *IS* why it is 'c++' > > to this day) > > ... D is already another programming language ... It wasn't back then :) > I don't know what this P has to do with it. You have revealed yourself as a newbie :) In the beginning there was CPL, the "Combined Programming Language." It was large enough to be infeasible to implement using then-current technologies, so the "Bootstrap Combined Programming Language" (BCPL) was invented, with the intent that the first CPL compiler would be written in BCPL. CPL never amounted to much -- I don't know whether it was ever implemented at all -- but BCPL developed a following. Someone (at Bell Labs?) produced a derivative called B, from which a few researchers at Murray Hill derived C. Thus the question: should the next language in the series be named D (next alphabetically) or P (next letter of BCPL)?