29 Apr
2016
29 Apr
'16
8:43 a.m.
On Apr 29, 2016, at 9:09 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at
mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
...
I think the answer is simpler: Unix was adopted by a number of academic groups because it
was available on easy terms, and it was adopted by a very successful company (Sun).
If Burroughs had been successful, its Algol might well have won; it certainly is every bit
as capable as C and far safer. (For those who don't want safety, there's ESPOL.)
paul
From: Liam Proven
C is popular because C is popular.
Yes, but that had to start somewhere.
I think it _became_ popular for two reasons: i) it was 'the' language of
Unix, and Unix was so much better than 99% of the alternatives _at the time_
that it grew like crazy, and ii) C was a lot better than many of the
alternatives _at the time it first appeared_ (for a number of reasons, which
I won't expand on unless there is interest).