from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
Nb
n 1: a soft grey ductile metallic element used in alloys; occurs
in niobite; formerly called columbium [syn: {niobium},
{Nb}, {atomic number 41}]
2: a Latin phrase (or its abbreviation) used to indicate that
special attention should be paid to something; "the margins
of his book were generously supplied with pencilled NBs"
[syn: {nota bene}, {NB}, {N.B.}]
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
C
NB
<language> A programming language designed by {Dennis Ritchie}
at {AT&T} {Bell Labs} ca. 1972 for systems programming on the
{PDP-11} and immediately used to reimplement {Unix}.
It was called "C" because many features derived from an
earlier compiler named "{B}". In fact, C was briefly named
"NB". B was itself strongly influenced by {BCPL}. Before
{Bjarne Stroustrup} settled the question by designing {C++},
there was a humorous debate over whether C's successor should
be named "D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL").
C is terse, low-level and permissive. It has a {macro
preprocessor}, {cpp}.
Partly due to its distribution with {Unix}, C became immensely
popular outside {Bell Labs} after about 1980 and is now the
dominant language in systems and {microcomputer} applications
programming. It has grown popular due to its simplicity,
efficiency, and flexibility. C programs are often easily
adapted to new environments.
C is often described, with a mixture of fondness and disdain,
as "a language that combines all the elegance and power of
{assembly language} with all the readability and
maintainability of assembly language".
Ritchie's original C, known as {K&R C} after Kernighan and
Ritchie's book, has been {standard}ised (and simultaneously
modified) as {ANSI C}.
See also {ACCU}, {ae}, {c68}, {c386}, {C-Interp}, {cxref},
{dbx}, {dsp56k-gcc}, {dsp56165-gcc}, {gc}, {GCT}, {GNU C},
{GNU superoptimiser}, {Harvest C}, {malloc}, {mpl},
{Pthreads}, {ups}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1996-06-01)