PIC (markup language)
| Pic | |
|---|---|
| Original author(s) | Brian Kernighan (AT&T Bell Laboratories) |
| Developer(s) | Various |
| Initial release | 1988 |
| Written in | C (programming language), Yacc |
| Operating system | Unix, Unix-like, Plan 9 |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Type | Command, Graphics |
In computing, Pic is a domain-specific programming language by Brian Kernighan for specifying line diagrams. The language contains predefined basic linear objects: line, move, arrow, and spline, the planar objects box, circle, ellipse, arc, and definable composite elements. Objects are placed with respect to other objects or absolute coordinates. A liberal interpretation of the input invokes default parameters when objects are incompletely specified. An interpreter translates this description into concrete drawing commands in a variety of possible output formats. Pic is a procedural programming language, with variable assignment, macros, conditionals, and looping. The language is an example of a little language originally intended for the comfort of non-programmers in the Unix environment (Bentley 1988).