In this paper, we establish the optimal error estimate of the particle method for
a family of nonlinear evolutionary partial differential equations, or the so-called b-equation. The
b-equation, including the Camassa-Holm equation and the Degasperis-Procesi equation, has many
applications in diverse scientific fields. The particle method is an approximation of the b-equation
in Lagrangian representation. We also prove short-time existence, uniqueness and regularity of the
Lagrangian representation of the b-equation.