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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Our lab is named after the goat (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago (8 children)

B programming language

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_(programming_language)

TIL

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I went looking for the implied 'A' language but couldn't find it. Did find this though:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programming_languages

Surprising how many single letter names there are.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

B was based on BCPL, which I assume is where the name came from.

But the actual A language would be APL, which stands for A Programming Language. It's a few years older than B and was pretty popular, so it could've influenced the name.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

A Programming Language

Gotta admire the wherewithal of continuing down the alphabet rather than just "Another Programming Language", through "Yet Another Programming Language" to "Dude, Where's My Programming Language".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

That trend probably didn't exist at the time

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It goes back further than you may think. YACC was written in "B" originally.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

It is hard for me to believe APL was popular. I forgot that Microsoft claimed to be making it for Motorola and Intel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Ada would be a good stand in for A based on the historical context of the name.

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