From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 23310 invoked from network); 21 May 2020 18:28:40 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 21 May 2020 18:28:40 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id D05AF9C92F; Fri, 22 May 2020 04:28:36 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DC7CB9C6FC; Fri, 22 May 2020 04:28:20 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 845E79C6FC; Fri, 22 May 2020 04:28:18 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mercury.lcs.mit.edu (mercury.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.122]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 1CEA59C6C8 for ; Fri, 22 May 2020 04:28:18 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11178) id 08C0318C093; Thu, 21 May 2020 14:28:17 -0400 (EDT) To: coppero1237@gmail.com, tuhs@tuhs.org Message-Id: <20200521182817.08C0318C093@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 21 May 2020 14:28:17 -0400 (EDT) From: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) Subject: Re: [TUHS] History of popularity of C X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" > From: Tyler Adams > C is so prolific and influential because it's so easy to write a C > compiler. I'm not sure the implied corollary ('it's _not_ easy to write compilers for other languages') is correct. As a datapoint, I pulled "Algol 60 Implementation" (Randell and Russell) off the shelf, and it reveals that the Algol 60 compiler discussed there (for the KDF9), using lessons from the Algol compiler for the Electrologica X1, was 3600 words (roughly 3 instructions/word). So it was small. Now, small is not necessarily equivalent to easy, but it was clearly not a mountainous job. I imagine early BCPL, etc compilers were roughly similar. The only language from that era which I can think of which was a slog, compiler-wise, was PL/I. I suspect the real reason for C's sucess was the nature of the language. When I first saw it (ca. 1976), it struck me as a quantum improvement over its contemporaries. Noel