Need C Algorithm

[Larry Wall]

In article <174 at masscomp.UUCP> lip at masscomp.UUCP (John Lipinski) writes:
>For Warren Lobel at Exxon Office Systems, who requested a solution 
>to the permutation problem. The following C program takes a string 
>as an argument and prints out the list of permutations.  It is a very
>interesting algorithm.  

Yes, it is interesting.  It looks suspiciously like a change ringing
algorithm.  Can any of you Anglophiles confirm that?  For that matter,
can any of you Angles across the water confirm it?  (Or do Angles qualify
as Anglophiles?)

For those of you who haven't heard of change ringing, it is an artform
practiced by the British in which a set of tuned bells is rung through
all possible permutations.  For an enjoyable introduction to the topic
I would recommend the mystery novel The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Larry Wall
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!lwall