whence "c" ?

[utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!intelqa!omsvax!rbk]

My understanding on the origin of the name "C" goes as follows:

	Once uppon a time there was an interpreted(?) language called
	BCPL (I think Basic Computer Programming Language).  At some
	point someone created a version called B that was compiled(?).
	B is the pre-cursor to C, and was "typeless" (or so; had only
	int).  This was picked up by Ritchie and turned into C, for
	purposes of turning everybodies favorite OS into a HLL (sort
	of) portable non-asm version.  C has evolved for some time now,
	so it's not clear if we'll ever be programming in "P" or "L".

Much of this (ie, all) is based on rumor/speculation/etc.  I've never
seen a spec for BCPL or B and haven't any idea by whom or why or when
they were created.

						Bob Beck
						Intel