jba@harald.ruc.dk (Jan B. Andersen) (08/04/89)
mark@inmet writes: >As a new comer to UNIX and C I have always wondered what BSS stands for?? I saw it mentiond just a few days ago, but don't recall where. It stands for Block Started by Symbol, a phrase used by some old IBM assembler I think. -- Jan B. Andersen ("SIMULA does it with CLASS")
ted@hpwrce.HP.COM ( Ted Johnson) (08/05/89)
>As a new comer to UNIX and C I have always wondered what BSS stands for??
Block Started by Symbol.
I believe it traces back to some old IBM machine.
-Tedchad@lakesys.UUCP (D. Chadwick Gibbons) (08/05/89)
...actually, it stands for Blank Static Storage, at least according to every C book and UNIX manual I have ever read...so that gives it about a 60% of being correct...maybe less; maybe a lot less. -- D. Chadwick Gibbons, chad@lakesys.lakesys.com, ...!uunet!marque!lakesys!chad
spl@mcnc.org (Steve Lamont) (08/05/89)
In article <69@harald.UUCP> jba@harald.ruc.dk (Jan B. Andersen) writes: >mark@inmet writes: > >>As a new comer to UNIX and C I have always wondered what BSS stands for?? > >I saw it mentiond just a few days ago, but don't recall where. >It stands for Block Started by Symbol, a phrase used by some old >IBM assembler I think. >-- >Jan B. Andersen ("SIMULA does it with CLASS") IBM 709 class machine, to be exact. -- spl Steve Lamont, sciViGuy EMail: spl@ncsc.org North Carolina Supercomputing Center Phone: (919) 248-1120 Box 12732/RTP, NC 27709
gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) (08/06/89)
In article <929@lakesys.UUCP> chad@lakesys.UUCP (D. Chadwick Gibbons) writes: >...actually, it stands for Blank Static Storage, at least according to every C >book and UNIX manual I have ever read... Vacuously true?
clyde@hitech.ht.oz (Clyde Smith-Stubbs) (08/15/89)
From article <69@harald.UUCP>, by jba@harald.ruc.dk (Jan B. Andersen): > mark@inmet writes: > >>As a new comer to UNIX and C I have always wondered what BSS stands for?? > I always thought it was Block Storage Segment. -- Clyde Smith-Stubbs HI-TECH Software, P.O. Box 103, ALDERLEY, QLD, 4051, AUSTRALIA. INTERNET: clyde@hitech.ht.oz.au PHONE: +61 7 300 5011 UUCP: uunet!hitech.ht.oz.au!clyde FAX: +61 7 300 5246
friedl@vsi.COM (Stephen J. Friedl) (08/17/89)
In article <312@hitech.ht.oz>, clyde@hitech.ht.oz (Clyde Smith-Stubbs) writes: > I always thought it was Block Storage Segment. I promised myself that I wouldn't post this unless I saw more than two wrong answers, so here goes. I hope dmr doesn't mind clearing the air indirectly: < To: vsi!friedl < From: attmail!research!dmr < Date: Sat Nov 12 08:52 GMT 1988 < Subject: BSS < < Actually the acronym (in the sense we took it up; it may < have other credible etymologies) is "Block Started by Symbol." < It was a pseudo-op in FAP (Fortran Assembly [-er?] Program), an < assembler for the IBM 704-709-7090-7094 machines. It defined < its label and set aside space for a given number of words. < There was another pseudo-op, BES, "Block Ended by Symbol" < that did the same except that the label was defined by < the last assigned word + 1. (On these machines Fortran < arrays were stored backwards in storage and were 1-origin.) < < The usage is reasonably appropriate, because just as with < standard Unix loaders, the space assigned didn't have to < be punched literally into the object deck but was represented < by a count somewhere. < < Dennis Ritchie -- Stephen J. Friedl / V-Systems, Inc. / Santa Ana, CA / +1 714 545 6442 3B2-kind-of-guy / {attmail uunet}!vsi!{bang!}friedl / friedl@vsi.com "My new bestseller, _Teach_Yourself_to_Read_, is now available everywhere" -me
john@frog.UUCP (John Woods) (08/17/89)
In article <312@hitech.ht.oz>, clyde@hitech.ht.oz (Clyde Smith-Stubbs) writes: > From article <69@harald.UUCP>, by jba@harald.ruc.dk (Jan B. Andersen): > > mark@inmet writes: > >>As a new comer to UNIX and C I have always wondered what BSS stands for?? > I always thought it was Block Storage Segment. Of course not. It's "British Motor Works." (DON'T SAY IT!) -- John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA 508-626-1101 ...!decvax!frog!john, john@frog.UUCP, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw@eddie.mit.edu