While Strukturbericht symbols exist for many of the earliest observed and most common crystal structures, the system is not comprehensive, and is no longer being updated.
The designations were established by the journal Zeitschrift für Kristallographie – Crystalline Materials, which published its first round of supplemental reviews under the name Strukturbericht from 1913-1928.
[4] These reports were collected into a book published in 1931 by Paul Peter Ewald and Carl Hermann which became Volume 1 of Strukturbericht.
[8] For the first volume, the designation consisted of a capital letter (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,L,M,O) specifying a broad category of compounds, and then a number to specify a particular crystal structure.
(ABAC Barlow packing) 'B' designates compounds of two elements with equal numbers of atoms.