Whitesmiths
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1978 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | P. J. Plauger, Mark Krieger, Gabriel Pham |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Fate | Merged with Intermetrics |
| Headquarters | Westford , United States |
Key people | P. J. Plauger (President 1978–1988) |
| Products | Whitesmiths C compiler, Idris operating system, Pascal front-end compiler |
Whitesmiths Ltd. was a software enterprise originally established in New York City by P. J. Plauger, Mark Krieger, and Gabriel Pham, with its main office later relocating to Westford, Massachusetts. The company marketed a Unix-like operating system known as Idris alongside the pioneering commercial C compiler named Whitesmiths C.
The Whitesmiths C compiler, initially created for the PDP-11 and launched in 1978, processed a variant of C akin to that used in Version 6 Unix, yet it was built entirely from scratch without incorporating Unix source code. It is particularly recognized for introducing the Whitesmiths style indentation demonstrated in its coding samples. Fischer & Porter, a process control firm based in Warminster, Pennsylvania, was the inaugural client for this compiler. Besides supporting PDP-11, the compiler generated code for platforms such as the Intel 8080/Zilog Z80, Motorola MC68000, and VAX-11, and gained popularity as a cross-compilation tool. Additionally, Whitesmiths developed a Pascal front-end that produced C code for subsequent compilation.
By the year 1983, Whitesmiths had established itself among multiple providers of Unix-like operating systems. During that period, it entered into both technical and commercial collaboration with COSMIC Software from France; Whitesmiths concentrated on 16-bit compilers (for example, PDP-11), while COSMIC specialized in 8-bit compilers targeting Intel and Motorola processors. This alliance advanced compiler technologies within their respective domains. Furthermore, Whitesmiths contributed significantly to the creation of the original ANSI C standard by supplying members to the standards committee and hosting technical workshops, thereby becoming one of the earliest vendors to offer an ANSI C-compliant compiler.
From 1978 until 1988, P. J. Plauger held the position of president. In December 1988, Whitesmiths merged with Intermetrics, which led to additional consolidations and acquisitions in the industry.
External links
- Whitesmiths Ltd. C Programmers' Manual
- Official homepage of Cosmic Software