Updated February 21, 2023
Definition
B programing language is a language based on basic combined programming or a BCPL, and it is the precursor of the C programming language. It is easier to understand and write than any other assembly language. It was derived from the BCPL, and the name of the b language is possibly from the BCPL contraction. B language was designed to develop non-numeric, recursive, and machine-independent applications such as software language. B language is a type less language.
B Programing Language – A Precursor to C Programming Language
The b programming language was based on the context and, depending on the specified word, will be treated as a memory address or integer. As machines, the processing of ASCII is common; it will probably arrive bell support for a character that suffered data from memory and words became important. The typeless nature of b programming language is its disadvantage.
The b programming language involves complex decision-making; it also processes the character, integer, and bit strings. The object code efficiency of b programming language is better. Implementing the TSS subsystems is good to use in the b programming language.
Basically, B is a typeless language, using the data type to the underlying machine natural memory word format is defined. As per the context, the word is treated as a memory address or integer. The typeless nature of the B language is a disadvantage of B language, which led to Dennis Ritchie and Thompson developing an expanded version of b language that is called C programming language.
C programming language was used for general purposes that were developed to overcome the disadvantages of B programming language. The C programming language is largely used in operating systems and software development. The language was developed in 1970 by Dennis Ritchie. C is defined as a low-level language that provides direct access to hardware and memory.
Key Takeaways
- B language was developed before the C programming language, and it will serve as the inspiration for the syntax of the C programming language.
- B is the first language that introduces the concept of block structure which contains the modern aspect of programming language, B designed for system programming.
History
- B programming language was developed in the bell labs, and it is derived from the BCPL. B is a programming language developed in the 1970s. The B programming language was created by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie.
- It was designed to be a simplified and improved version of the BCPL programming language, which was used for system programming on the Multics operating system. The bell language was developed to produce an improved version of the UNIX OS.
- Thompson created the B language as a stripped-down version of BCPL that would be easier to learn and use. It was designed to be compiled on a PDP-7 minicomputer and was used to rewrite parts of the UNIX operating system. B was an interpreted language, which made it easier to modify and test programs but also slower than compiled languages.
- B had several important features that made it stand out from other programming languages at the time. It was a typeless language, meaning variables did not need to be declared with a specific data type. This made programming faster and simpler but also more error-prone.
- B also had a simple syntax that was easy to learn, with only 14 keywords and a few operators. Despite its simplicity, B was a powerful language that allowed programmers to write complex programs, including operating systems and compilers.
- However, B had limitations, including a lack of structured programming constructs, such as loops and if-else statements. This led to the development of the C programming language by Thompson and Ritchie in the early 1970s, which addressed many of the shortcomings of B and became one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.
- Today, B is no longer used in practice, but it played an important role in developing computer programming and paved the way for more sophisticated programming languages.
Use of Linear Array in B Programming Language
The b programming language will not contain the concept of the pointer, the pointer is a fundamental concept in the C language. In b language, use an array and structure instead of a pointer to manage the memory. B language contains a simple type of system as compared with C, it will contain fewer types, and it is more straightforward for the mechanism of type-casting. The similarities between C and B languages are not adopted widely; also, now, it is not used in any programming language.
Today, the B programming language is considered a historical programming language that serves as the stone for developing high-level language and C language. The name of B programming language is a diminution of BCPL. B language is created to develop the applications of non-numeric software.
Developing B Programming Language
Below is an example of a DCC decompiler. We can see that we have included the dcc library as follows.
Code:
#include "dcc.h"
void pr1 (int arg0)
{
int l1;
l1 = 0;
arg0 = (arg0 + 1);
while ((*arg0 != 0)) {
l1 = (l1 + 1);
arg0 = (arg0 + 1);
}
}
void main ()
{
int l1;
l1 = 404;
pr1 (l1);
}B programming language is designed by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson before working on the C language. Below is the code of B language.
Code:
strcopy(ml, m2)
{
auto d;
d = 0;
while(lchar(ml, d, char(m2, d)) != '*e') d++;
}In the above syntax, we can see that it is similar to C, but it does not contain any type in definition also local variable is declared with the auto keyword. In B, all the arguments of the variable contain only one type.
Handling the string in B is very tricky; B does not contain any idea of bytes. So each character is packed into a single register.
Code:
main()
{
putchar('B'); putchar('p, r'); putchar('ogramming'); putchar('!*n');
}The putchar will print all characters of the input word. Below is the function of getting character as index as follows.
Code:
char(t, n)
{
auto d, a, pos;
d = t[n/4];
pos = n%4;
a = 7-9*pos;
d = (d>>a)&0777;
return(d);
}The latest GCC compiler can compile the B code. We have tried the below code it is considered all types as int.
Code:
f(m, n, p)
{
return m+n+p;
};GCC compiler even compiles the below code. In the below code, we have declared the auto keyword as follows.
Code:
f1(m, n, p)
{
auto t;
t = m+n;
return t+p;
};In c code, we have found the function definition where the argument type is enumerated. The below example shows the argument type definition as follows.
Code:
f(m, n, p)
char m;
char n;
{
return m+n+p;
};The definition of the K and R functions appeared when we port the B code into C. The below example shows the port from B to C.
Code:
f(char m, char n, int p)
{
return m+n+p;
};When we write the typeless language, we need to keep track of variables and their types. The b language is simpler as compared to C. The write of the decompiler is started using B language.
Platforms
It is executed on multiple platforms. Below are the platforms as mentioned:
- Mainframe computers: The original b language is developed to use mainframe computers, and it is still used today.
- Linux and UNIX: B language is also executed on UNIX and Linux platforms by using the b compiler or interpreter.
- Windows: B language is also executed on windows platforms by using the b compiler or interpreter.
- MacOS: B language is also executed on MacOS platforms by using the b compiler or interpreter.
Symbols
It is used as a limited symbol set. Below are the symbols as follows.
- Operators: B language supports a small set of logical and arithmetic operators like +, -, /, %, and *.
- Delimiters: B programming language will use square, parenthesis, brackets, and braces for the block of delimiter expression code.
- Keywords: B language contains a small set of keywords, like while, do, begin, and end. That keyword is used to control the flow and structure of the code.
- Identifiers: B language uses the alphanumeric identifier to represent the constants, subroutines, and variables.
- Literals: It support floating-point and integer literals to represent the values constant in programs.
The above symbols are used in combination to create powerful programs.
Examples
Below are the examples as mentioned:
Example #1
Here we have printed the output as “B programming language” as follows.
Code:
begin
write("B programming language")
end.Output:
Example #2
In the below example, we have defined factorial as follows.
Code:
var
n, res: integer;
function f(n1: integer): integer;
begin
if n1 = 0 then
f := 1
else
f := n * f (n1-1)
end;
begin
write ('Enter num: ');
readln(n);
res := f(n)
write('Fact', n, 'is', res);
end.Output:
Example #3
In the below example, we have defined the Fibonacci series as follows.
Code:
var
l, m, s1, se, nt: integer;
begin
s1 := 0;
s2 :=1;
write ('Enter num:');
readln(m);
write(s1, ',', s2, ', ');
for l := 5 to m do
begin
nt := s1 + s2;
write (nt, ', ');
s1 := s2;
s2 := nt;
end;
end.Output:
Benefits of B Programming Language
- Simple syntax: The syntax is simple.
- Portability: It is portable; we can easily transfer the b language code to another platform.
- Compatibility: B is compatible with the other language of programming; it is easily integrated with other systems.
- Performance: It is a low-level programming language means it provides the user direct control of the hardware.
- Versatility: It is used to develop multiple applications, which include databases, software, and GUI.
- Legacy code: It contains the large legacy code, which is reused and updated in modern systems.
- Interoperability: It provides support in other programming languages which integrate with existing systems.
Drawbacks
- Lack of data typing: B language does not contain a built-in data typing system, so we can say that the variable is not assigned for a specific type.
- Limited memory management: B language does not have advanced memory management features such as memory allocation or garbage collection.
- Weak type checking: It has limited features of type checking, which means the compiler does not detect the specified error.
- Limited control structure: B language has limited control structures which made it challenging to write complex code which requires looping and branching.
- Limited language feature: B language lacked many features that we can take for granted in a modern programming language, like functions, pointers, and many more.
- Code reusability: It lacks support for abstraction and modularity, which made it challenging to write complex programs.
Conclusion
B programming language is developed by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie in 1970. B is contained as type less, also, it will contain that underlying natural machine’s word format. It was developed in Bell labs. The main aim of developing this language is to implement the UNIX operating system.
Recommended Article
We hope that this EDUCBA information on “B programming language” was beneficial to you. You can view EDUCBA’s recommended articles for more information.
