Does anybody know how B-Tree got its name?

Question

I'm reading CLRS 2nd and is studying B-Tree now.

CLRS claims that B-Tree naming is not clear yet: [Bayer, McCreight, 1972] doesn't offer the reason that B-Tree is named to "B-Tree".

I haven't investigated this issue any further... but does anyone know the reason? :)

Answer 1

This seems to be the closest I can find to an answer:

The origin of "B-tree" has never been explained by the authors. As we shall see, "balanced," "broad," or "bushy" might apply. Others suggest that the "B" stands for Boeing. Because of his contributions, however, it seems appropriate to think of B-trees as "Bayer"-trees.

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-Tree#Etymology_unknown

Answer 2

"Bayer" would be my best guess. I doubt we'll know the answer.

Answer 3

Landauer, W. I. The Balanced Tree and Its Utilization in Information Retrieval. IEEE Trans. on Electronic Computers, Vol. EC-12, No. 6, December 1963.