lambert@mcvax.UUCP (Lambert Meertens) (12/15/83)
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Before the flames: YES, we know that the name ``B'' for a new programming
language is confusing. However, this is NOT its name, but what its name
is called.
``B'' is a new programming language intended for personal computing and
characterized by simplicity. (See article by Leo Geurts in SIGPLAN Notices
December 1982 and news.lang, Subject: The B Programming Language, Message-ID:
<5465@mcvax.UUCP>.) At the CWI, Amsterdam, we are in the final throes of fin-
ishing a new version of its implementation after a pilot implementation of two
years ago. A pre-release will be offered to educational and comparable non-
profit UN*X sites volunteering to serve as guinea pigs to help find imperfec-
tions (-:if any:-) in this product.
Like the pilot implementation and the future release, this pre-release is ob-
tainable at a nominal fee (for mailing the tape) under a non-disclosure
license that does not promise any maintenance on our part. However, we are
determined to make an effort to give a preferential treatment in this respect
to sites that send us bug reports on the pre-release.
Details on how to apply will be posted later. However, it so happens that I
will be in the U.S. and have to be on Santa Catalina, California, till Friday
13 Jan. 1984; at the USENIX Conference in Washington, D.C., two days in the
period from Tuesday 17 - Friday 20 Jan.; and in New York City around Tuesday
24 Jan. Also, I will have a tape of Mark I with me. Since I have about five
working days to spare, I am willing to visit places interested in having the
pre-release installed. Part of the schedule could be an introductory course
(say two hours) on ``B'' and the use of the system, aimed at people who al-
ready know how to program, and/or discussion with interested persons on the
future plans. If you are interested, please drop me a letter (by mail!) at
{philabs,decvax}!mcvax!lambert. (The LATEST safe date for mailing is 2 Jan.
1984 because transatlantic mail is carried by electronic snails.) Please make
sure to include the following information:
-- Your institution and site.
-- UN*X version and machine configuration (e.g. 4.1BSD on VAX 11/750).
N.B. The pre-release will barely run on PDP45s.
-- The dates on which a visit is possible.
-- How to get there (physical address).
For obvious reasons, I cannot promise in advance to honor all requests. You
will, however, receive a reply by 11 January indicating if you could be in-
cluded in the itinerary, and if so, on which date.
Lambert Meertens, CWI (Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science), Amsterdam
{philabs,decvax}!mcvax!lambert