[W/K] :: BCPL

  BCPL
       Basic / BBN  Combined Programming Language (BBN)
       
       

  BCPL // n. [abbreviation, `Basic Combined Programming Language') A
     programming language developed by Martin Richards in Cambridge in 1967.
     It is remarkable for its rich syntax, small size of compiler (it can be
     run in 16k) and extreme portability. It reached break-even point at a
     very early stage, and was the language in which the original hello
     world program was written. It has been ported to so many different
     systems that its creator confesses to having lost count. It has only one
     data type (a machine word) which can be used as an integer, a character,
     a floating point number, a pointer, or almost anything else, depending
     on context. BCPL was a precursor of C, which inherited some of its
     features.
  
  

  BCPL
       
           (Basic CPL) A British systems language developed by
          Richards in 1969 and descended from CPL (Combined
          Programming Language).  BCPL is low-level, typeless and
          block-structured, and provides only one-dimensional arrays.
          Case is not significant, but conventionally reserved words
          begin with a capital.  Flow control constructs include:
          If-Then, Test-Then-Else, Unless-Do, While-Do, Until-Do,
          Repeat, Repeatwhile, Repeatuntil, For-to-By-Do, Loop, Break
          and Switchon-Into-Case-Default-Endcase.  BCPL has conditional
          expressions, pointers, and manifest constants.  It has both
          procedures: 'Let foo(bar) Be command' and functions: 'Let
          foo(bar) = expression'.  'Valof $(..Resultis..$)' causes a
          compound command to produce a value.  Parameters are
          call-by-value.
       
          Program segments communicate via the global vector where
          system and user variables are stored in fixed numerical
          locations in a single array.
       
          The first BCPL compiler was written in AED.  BCPL was used
          to implement the TRIPOS operating system, which was
          subsequently reincarnated as AmigaDOS.
       
          ["BCPL - The Language and its Compiler", Martin Richards &
          Colin Whitby-Stevens, Cambridge U Press 1979].
       
          See OCODE, INTCODE.
       
          Oxford BCPL differed slightly: Test-Ifso-Ifnot, and section
          brackets in place of $( $).
       
          The original INTCODE interpreter for BCPL is available for
          Amiga, Unix, MS-DOS
          ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/amiga/programming/languages/BCPL/).html">(ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/amiga/programming/languages/BCPL/).
       
          A BCPL compiler bootstrap kit with an INTCODE
          interpreter in C was written by Ken Yap
          .
       
          (1995-03-26)