[TUHS] History of non-Bell C compilers?

arnold at skeeve.com arnold at skeeve.com
Fri Mar 8 19:33:48 AEST 2024


Interestingly, they used Literate Programming to do so.
The source is available, but IIRC there isn't a back end
for x86_64.

Rob Pike <robpike at gmail.com> wrote:

> Chris Fraser and Dave Hanson did LLC and wrote a book about it, very clean
> and pedagogically valuable.
>
> https://www.amazon.com.au/Retargetable-C-Compiler-Design-Implementation/dp/0805316701
>
> -rob
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2024 at 11:31 AM Warner Losh <imp at bsdimp.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Mar 7, 2024 at 5:08 PM Rich Salz <rich.salz at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I believe Snyder was an MIT Master's thesis, finished in 1975[1].  There
> >> was a fair amount of C and compiler work at MIT LCS, perhaps JNC can post
> >> some info. I think Snyder's compiler was used for the MIT PC/IP[2] project;
> >> the links at BitSavers imply they are related. PC/IP brought TCP and
> >> clients to DOS 3 machines and was commercialized as FTP software and was
> >> one of the reasons for the creation of the MIT license[4]. BDS C[3] was
> >> done by an MIT drop-out, Leor Zolman. I bought my first motorcycle from him
> >> :) BDS C was used for the first implementations of MINCE (mince is not
> >> complete emacs -- those kinds of acronyms were popular) and Scribble,
> >> downsized clones of emacs and Scribe, respectively.
> >>
> >> [1] http://www.lcs.mit.edu/publications/specpub.php?id=717
> >> [2] https://web.mit.edu/Saltzer/www/publications/pcip-1986.pdf
> >> [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDS_C
> >> [4] https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9263265
> >>
> >
> > Judging from what's at the bitsavers I posted, the source for pcip and
> > this is the backstory to them.
> >
> > Warner
> >


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