BC (VI) 6/12/72 BC (VI) NAME bc -- B interpreter SYNOPSIS bc [ -c ] sfile .b ... ofile ... 1 1 DESCRIPTION bc is the UNIX B interpreter. It accepts three types of arguments: Arguments whose names end with ".b" are assumed to be B source programs; they are compiled, and the object program is left on the file sfile .o 1 (i.e. the file whose name is that of the source with ".o" substituted for ".b"). Other arguments (except for "-c") are assumed to be either loader flag arguments, or B-compatible object programs, typically produced by an earlier bc run, or perhaps libraries of B-compatible rou- tines. These programs, together with the results of any compilations specified, are loaded (in the order given) to produce an executable program with name a.out. The "-c" argument suppresses the loading phase, as does any syntax error in any of the routines being compiled. The language itself is described in [1]. The future of B is uncertain. The language has been totally eclipsed by the newer, more power- ful, more compact, and faster language C. FILES file.b input file a.out loaded output b.tmp1 temporary (deleted) b.tmp2 temporary (deleted) /usr/lang/bdir/b[ca] translator /usr/lang/bdir/brt[12] runtime initialization /usr/lib/libb.a builtin functions, etc. /usr/lang/bdir/bilib.a interpreter library SEE ALSO [1] K. Thompson; MM-72-1271-1; Users' Reference to B. cc(I) DIAGNOSTICS see [1]. BUGS Certain external initializations are illegal. (In particular: strings and addresses of exter- nals.)