this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Linux

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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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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I recently read Kernighan's UNIX: A History and Memoir. It was pretty interesting. Also, Bell Labs still hosts a page with a lot of links/info for Richie at: https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 months ago

Should have gone for something like "Dennis Richie Advanced Computing University Lab Annex."

Parses weird, but look at that acronym.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Programming Languages today: Rust, Go, Typescript

Programming Languages back then: C, B, C#, C++

LOL

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago (1 children)

C# is much more recent than C/BCPL etc. What's interesting, though, is how many of C these more modern languages are inspired by C. C is also very much still in use!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

The name C++ is an inside joke as ++ is the C language increment operator, meant to imply that C++ is an improvement on C.

I have heard several times that the name C# was meant to look like the ++ had been added again to the name C++. The syntax of C# was chosen to be familiar to programmers that knew C++.

If we are saying old languages use letters for names and that newer ones use words, it is worth noting that C# was also heavily inspired by Java, which came first. Both Java and JavaScript are from 1995 ( iolder than C# ).

In the grand scheme, Go is not much newer than C#. Go is from 2009 and C# is from 2000. That might seem like a lot but Go was intended as an alternative to C which is from 1972.

C got its name as a progression over B, which started the whole single letter thing, but C syntax was chosen to look like ALGOL ( 1958 ). So we have to blame ALGOL for the look of C, C++, Java, C#, JavaScript, and even Rust.

Two of the oldest languages as FORTRAN and Lisp. Language names were often abbreviations ( such as FORmula TRANslation for FORTRAN ). Lisp was originally LISP ( list processing ) but the name Lisp, from 1960, fits right in with Go and Rust I would say.

The trend is certainly towards more whimsical names though. An early name for C was NB which stood for “New B”. If it were named like we do today, maybe it would have been called “Newbie” or some synonym of that. I kind of like Punk.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Too bad about the typo on the sign...

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

AdvanceD.

Advance computing means it's computing performed ahead of time - if it means anything at all.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

I'm assuming the speculative-execution bugs were their fault then

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

This is the future, instructions will be executed before they are run.

Actually that’s kind of like what CPUs do today with branching.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It would probably make more sense for "ADVANCE" to be "ADVANCED"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

“ Denis Ritchie Advance ! “, just put an exclamation mark at the end of the first line. More of a declaration .

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

Ayo same here in an indian college

[–] [email protected] 53 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Got me confused on which goat have such interesting name, turn out it's GOAT not goat.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 months ago

🅱️rogramming language

[–] [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] 2 points 3 months ago

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

[–] [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] 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] 11 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] 74 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Dennis Richie is a personal hero of mine and i go out of my way to buy a cake every September 9th to celebrate his contributions to the world. It's a real shame his passing was overshadowed at the time.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Overshadowed? What was it overshadowed by?

[–] [email protected] 53 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Steve Jobs died one week earlier.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 3 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Sorry, unrelated, but my Lemmy client says that you have “-1” downvotes and 49 upvotes. How is that even possible? It should only be a positive integer. On the web client, it shows nothing for downvotes, but says 48 upvotes instead of 49…

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

Interesting... I only see 49 both on web and client.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Some business guy, who stole ideas, apparently.

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

“Great artists steal” — Steve Jobs ( or Faulkner, or Picasso, or Stravinsky )

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

It's so sad Steve Jobs died of ligma

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Steve deez nuts