[Simh] BLISS and C

[Dave Wade]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Simh [mailto:simh-bounces at trailing-edge.com] On Behalf Of Phil
> Budne
> Sent: 30 January 2018 00:17
> To: simh at trailing-edge.com
> Subject: Re: [Simh] BLISS and C
> 
> > I also think that Dave was asking for a B compiler, and not a BCPL compiler...
> 

Yes

> Amongst the PDP-7 UNIX files was a B runtime, which someone on the team
> was able to decipher well enough to write a B compiler in a C
> subset:
> 
> https://github.com/DoctorWkt/pdp7-unix/blob/master/tools/b.c
> 
> And then make self-hosting, in:
> https://github.com/DoctorWkt/pdp7-unix/tree/master/src/other
> 
> ISTR, the compiler generates something like more threaded code, as
> opposed native instructions, but the output is fed to the assembler (along
> with runtime source) to make an executable.
> 

Sounds like an interesting project... 

> A paper I first saw VERY recently describes Thompson bringing up the B
> interpreter on the CPU of a Merganthaller phototypsetter (since the vendor
> supplied S/W was too limited for them to use).
> 
> Ah:
> https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~bwk/202/summer.scanned.pdf
> document p8 (pdf p9)
> 
>     ... KLT resurected the B interpreter.  B is a good language for a
>     16-bit word-oriented minicomputer, and most of our subsequent 202
>     programs have been written in B.
> ___________________________

I will have a look at that

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Dave