C++

(pronounced: C-plus-plus)

C is a programming language designed by Dennis Ritchie at AT&T Bell Labs, circa 1972, for systems programming on the PDP-11. The language was immediately used to reimplement Unix. It was called "C" (and before that, "NB") because many of its features were derived from an earlier compiler named "B," which in turn was named in commemoration of its parent, BCPL. Before Bjarne Stroustrup settled the question by designing C++, a humorous debate arose over whether C's successor should be named "D" or "P" (following B and C in "BCPL").