Curly braces: An evolution of Unix and C
Summary
Curly braces: An evolution of UNIX and C traces how the curly braces syntax emerged and evolved alongside UNIX and the C language, from the limitations of the Teletype Model 33 and ASCII 1963 to the use of trigraphs and digraphs, and the terminal driver work that allowed braces to be written and read. The piece surveys early language forms (B, NB, BCPL), the transition to C on UNIX, and the ongoing impact of historical hardware constraints on modern coding conventions.