Ancestors of C

• The early 1960s: CPL (Combined Programming Language)
  • by Cambridge University & University of London
• 1966: BCPL (Basic CPL):
  • simplified CPL intended for systems programming
• 1969: B: simplified BCPL (stripped down so its compiler would run on minicomputer)
  • used to implement the earliest Unix
• Early 1970s: C: expanded from B motivation: they wanted to play "Space Travel" on a minicomputer used to implement all subsequent Unix.