this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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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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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.
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.
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".
That trend probably didn't exist at the time
It goes back further than you may think. YACC was written in "B" originally.
It is hard for me to believe APL was popular. I forgot that Microsoft claimed to be making it for Motorola and Intel.
Ada would be a good stand in for A based on the historical context of the name.