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bcpl


bcpl

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  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. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  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/)}. 
 
  A  BCPL  compiler  {bootstrap}  kit  with  an  {INTCODE} 
  {interpreter}  in  {C}  was  written  by  Ken  Yap 
  . 
 
  (1995-03-26) 
 
 
 
  From  V.E.R.A.  --  Virtual  Entity  of  Relevant  Acronyms  13  March  2001  [vera]: 
 
  BCPL 
  Basic  /  BBN  Combined  Programming  Language  (BBN)