About a thousand years ago, I recall hand-building programs for 8-bit microprocessors (in what we'd call embedded systems today). In many cases, I was the "assembler", writing directly in machine code which was then either keyed in through front-panel switches or burned into a PROM.... -- Ian
-----Original Message-----
From: Johnny Billquist [mailto:bqt@update.uu.se]
Sent: Thu 9/5/2002 5:05 AM
To: Tim Bradshaw
Cc: pups(a)minnie.tuhs.org
Subject: Re: [pups] Bringing up the fist C compiler
On Thu, 5 Sep 2002, Tim Bradshaw wrote:
> * Johnny Billquist wrote:
>
> > How? It was written, of course. In assembler. By that time, you already
> > had the assembler, an editor, and other commonly used system programs, so
> > it's just a case of the normal development cycle.
>
> Is this known or is it deduction?
[...]
Ah. Ok, now I understand what you're asking for.
You want to know what the first C was written in, and what that
compiler/assembler was written in/on, and so on...
No, I'm just deducting. Since the reference posted said that TMG was the
first higher level language implemented, it follows that it must have been
written in a low level language, namely assembler.
Admittedly, the PDP-7 TMG *could* have been written in some high level
language on some other machine using some tool that made a PDP-7
executable, so your guess is as good as mine.
But even though I cannot account for all steps, I can guarantee that at
the end of the chain, you *will* find assembler.
I guess my MACRO-11 implementation of C isn't good enough. :-)
(Well, it ain't mine, it's the normal DECUS C, but I'm hacked some at it.)
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
_______________________________________________
PUPS mailing list
PUPS(a)minnie.tuhs.org
http://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/pups
Greetings,
I am looking for a copy of Ultrix 4.5 preferably on TK70 tapes but any
medium will do. I have a MicroVax 3300 that I would like to breath life
into again. Unfortunately the version in the Archives is too old to be
of use and it seems that there is no DSSI support in NetBSD. I would be
willing to trade old computer parts in return(I have Old SGI, Dec PDP
and and Sun Stuff). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
-Peter
pwrangell(a)bsdmercs.org
On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Dennis Ritchie wrote:-
> I'm not positive about the logo on our first PDP-11.
The picture of Dennis and Ken in front ASR-33's hints at a pdp11/20 logo
on the console. The 11/20 I have (built 29/1/71, SN 821) has just plain 'pdp11'.
The lead time on getting the machine was about 6 months. I suspect that the
/20 was added as other models were in the pipeline (/05,/45).
For a picture, see http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/pdp-11/11_20.html
> Incidentally, the machine's handbook was a wonder.
Indead it was
The front cover is interesting, in that it shows a table top version of the
11/20. It was quite possible to run one just with paper tape and an ASR33 with
the reader/punch option. There was a similar option for the pdp8/e.
The only obvious change between the first and second edition handbooks was that
the latter changed the last page from a picture of a young lady in front of
a machine to a table of Unibus pin assignments.
> From: Dennis Ritchie <dmr(a)plan9.bell-labs.com>
> Subject: [pups] Unix and PDP11/20 (was PDP9?)
> Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 00:21:40 -0400
>
> I'm not positive about the logo on our first PDP-11.
The text accompanying the picture "Ken and Den" somewhere on your web site
says that the logo on your first PDP-11 was just "PDP-11" without the /20.
> On the earliest handbook I have, the front panel photo
> just shows "PDP11", though inside the handbook
> it does talk about the two models (11/10 and 11/20).
> Both had the same KA11 processor, but the basic
> 11/10 sported 1024Kw ROM memory plus a generous
> 128 words of RAM, while the 11-20 had
> 4096Kw core RAM, and the ASR33 Teletype was included.
> You could add more RAM to the 11/20.
I fear that you have suffered a "units slip" saying 1024Kw
and 4096Kw when you meant 1Kw and 4Kw respectively.
> Incidentally, the machine's handbook was a wonder.
> In 104 pages (each 5.25x8 inches), it described the whole
> system: not only the instruction set but the theory
> of the Unibus (including some logic diagrams) together with
> programming specifications for the TTY, the clock,
> and the paper tape reader.
>
> Dennis
Agreed, "PDP11 Handbook Second Edition" was a really good book
Occasionally I wonder if I ever had my hands on a "First Edition"
and threw it away when the second edition came out. Not knowing
that both the computer and the handbook would become classics.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenst(a)ucsd.edu
Hi,
I have a micro PDP11/73 equipped with an RD53, RX50 and a Cipher mag tape
drive (untested). The machine currently boots into TSX (although I don't
have usernames/passwords so no shell access).
I'd like to get BSD2.11 onto the machine. What is going to be the best
route? I assume that my chances of breaking through TSX security (so I can
use kermit) are small, so is vtserver going to be the easiest method?
Toby
Tobias Russell
Managing Director
Russell Sharpe Limited
The Tannery, Tannery Lane, Bramley, Surrey. GU5 0AJ England
Tel: +44 (1483) 894158
Fax: +44 (1483) 898932
Email: toby(a)russellsharpe.com
Carl Lowenstein:
I suppose the easiest break-in tool would be a floppy disk with a bootable
RT11 on it.
Or, if your goal is just to drain the machine's brain entirely
and start over, which is likely the case if you want to put 2.11
on it: dig up the standalone disk diagnostic (is XXDP easily
available somewhere these days?) and reformat the disk.
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
> From: "Tobias Russell" <toby(a)russellsharpe.com>
> To: "PDP Unix Preservation Society" <pups(a)tuhs.org>
> Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2002 08:38:26 +0100
>
> Hi,
>
> I have a micro PDP11/73 equipped with an RD53, RX50 and a Cipher mag tape
> drive (untested). The machine currently boots into TSX (although I don't
> have usernames/passwords so no shell access).
>
> I'd like to get BSD2.11 onto the machine. What is going to be the best
> route? I assume that my chances of breaking through TSX security (so I can
> use kermit) are small, so is vtserver going to be the easiest method?
I haven't done it in many years, but after you get the machine to
boot into RT11 you can disable the TSX security stuff. Probably a file
named "STARTF.COM" is the initial RT11 startup and it contains the
command to chain to TSX.
I suppose the easiest break-in tool would be a floppy disk with a bootable
RT11 on it.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenst(a)ucsd.edu
Unix was _developed_ on the 11/20. The first versions (up to the
fourth or fifth edition or so) didn't require an MMU, and, therfore,
had no protection whatsoever.
Dennis... tell us the "All out?" story.. please.. :)
--fred
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave Horsfall [mailto:dave@horsfall.org]
> Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 3:02 AM
> To: PDP Unix Preservation Society
> Subject: Re: [pups] PDP-9?
>
>
> On Sun, 18 Aug 2002, Lars Buitinck wrote:
>
> > we all know that UNIX first ran on the PDP-7 and then on
> the PDP-11/20,
>
> Just got back from overseas, but this doesn't seem to have
> been addressed:
> AFAIK, Unix never ran on the 11/20 (no MM unit); did you mean
> a DEC-20?
>
> --
> Dave Horsfall DTM VK2KFU dave(a)esi.com.au Ph: +61 2
> 9906-3377 Fx: 9906-3468
> (Unix Guru) Pacific ESI, Unit 22, 8 Campbell St, Artarmon,
> NSW 2065, Australia
>
> _______________________________________________
> PUPS mailing list
> PUPS(a)minnie.tuhs.org
> http://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/pups
>
Early editions of Unix did run on a PDP11/20, written in assembly language.
There was a memory mapping option KS-11 that sat between the processor and
Unibus that mapped chunks of memory. It was a DEC special, and only about a
dozen were built. See http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/odd.html
A hardware story'
On Mon, 2 Sep 2002, Dave Horsfall wrote:
> On Sun, 18 Aug 2002, Lars Buitinck wrote:
>
> > we all know that UNIX first ran on the PDP-7 and then on the PDP-11/20,
>
> Just got back from overseas, but this doesn't seem to have been addressed:
> AFAIK, Unix never ran on the 11/20 (no MM unit); did you mean a DEC-20?
Um? Who said Unix used an MMU in the beginning?
No, Unix never ran on a PDP-10. It was PDP-7 and then the PDP-11, and I
believe it was a PDP-11/20 at the beginning.
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
Larry McVoy:
In response to old hardware... My first machine was an Okidata CPM machine
which had a color (!) monitor and a built in printer. If someone had one
of these, I'd like it just for old time's sake...
Well, my first computer was a Cardiac. I'm glad to say that I managed
to grab one from Classic Computing a few years ago, but I don't think
they have any left. If anyone knows of a source, I'd be interested to
hear about it; every now and then I mention Cardiac to someone who hasn't
heard of it, and they'd like to know where to get one.
I still think Cardiac should be a required tool in freshman programming
courses.
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
In response to old hardware... My first machine was an Okidata CPM machine
which had a color (!) monitor and a built in printer. If someone had one
of these, I'd like it just for old time's sake...
--
---
Larry McVoy lm at bitmover.comhttp://www.bitmover.com/lm
All,
I just received this e-mail. I have no idea who Wendy is, but
perhaps the things she has stashed away may be of some interest to you.
Warren
----- Forwarded message from Wendy Murphy -----
>From jendywo(a)yahoo.com Sat Aug 31 08:22:00 2002
Message-ID: <20020830222155.14119.qmail(a)web14907.mail.yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 15:21:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Wendy Murphy <jendywo(a)yahoo.com>
Subject: computer inventory for hardcore geeks
To: clintw(a)colorado.cirrus.com, xds_sigma7(a)hotmail.com, eric(a)brouhaha.com,
iking(a)microsoft.com, mcquiggi(a)sfu.ca, emu(a)ecubics.com, dworkin(a)village.org,
russell283(a)attbi.com
Cc: rob(a)witte-family.net, jjdellea(a)chisp.net, wkt(a)tuhs.org
X-Spam-Status: No, hits=0.0 required=5.0 tests= version=2.01
Content-Length: 3539
In my quest to get the house clean so I can get out, I
decided to inventory the computer stuff. It's like
inventory by the technologically blind! I got just so
far before I got frustrated and gave up.
Pat and Rob took the sillyscope (with the intention of
selling it, I believe) and the RT, I think it was
called (to keep for my ex-).
Dworkin took the PDP-11/73. I asked him for $84
because that's what I need to keep Xcel from shutting
off my electricity, but he chose to give me a check
for $500, which I have not cashed and won't until he's
had the stuff long enough to ascertain that it works
and tell me so, or for two weeks, whichever comes
first.
That leaves:
(Note: sizes are eyeballed by someone with a lousy
eye)
IN THE GARAGE:
various cables, keyboards, mouses, plugs,
cabinets, broken TVs, VCRs, and a Laser disk player,
and miscellaneous hardware
a box about 1'x1.5'x2' with a 3.5" and a 5.25"
drive, and seven flat buttons with colored lights and
symbols, like turtles, rabbits, and lightning bolts.
an Alpha Micro 1000E
Raster Tech monitor
D-SCAN, an 8"x8"x1" board with 17 female cable
plugs in three rows labeled "In" "Out" and "CH", six
columns labeled "R G B H V C"
a 3'x3'x2' dec RXO2 and RLO2
exposure timer & power supply unit
Sharp electric typewriter, and another electric
typewriter up too high for me to read anything off it.
a couple of Apple II+s (Dad wants to keep one as
he has some information on a 5.25" floppy formatted
for that computer)
SCM152 dry copier
microfiche reader ?
Kennedy model 9300 tape drive
AlphaWrite documentation, and several 3-ring
binders of documentation I just didn't feel like
thumbing through for particulars right now (but can
later, if you like)
and the infamous 78 2'x2' floor tiles. (Dworkin
said he's seen them advertised for $9 apiece, new.
They're not quite in new condition, but that gives a
ballpark for what they ought to be worth)
I didn't check IN THE LOFT, because it's too high for
me to reach or see.
IN THE FURNACE ROOM: I saw
an Amdex 300A video monitor
NEC multisync 2A monitor
Raster Tech monitor
ADDS (?) monitor
and at least one other monitor with no words I
could identify
An okidata printer
an ALPS ALQ200 printer
an IBM selectric II typewriter
a Minolta fax 261
and a "stack" -- y'know, a computer, with two
3.5" and one 5.25" floppy drives and buttons that said
"turbo" and "reset", but no brand name I could make
out.
IN THE CAVE: there remains
a Scientific Atlanta receiver
IBM monitor
IBM 3.5" floppy drive
HP LaserJet printer
Smith-Corona electric typewriter
Data south DS 150 printer
Microscience International Corporation thing that
says it has 7 heads and 855 cylinders, but won't tell
me what it uses them for
digital h3350; I don't know what it is, but it's
the size of a deck of cards
a couple of EMLock security door thingies
(magnetic)
various boards (green things with solder and
little batteries and stuff on them)
a couple of Alpha Micro video cassettes
That's what I had the energy to see. Can you
enlighten me as to what these things are and what
ought to be done with them? I can't even get at the
other stuff in the furnace room/garage until some of
it gets moved.
~ Wendy the technologically incorrigible
----- End of forwarded message from Wendy Murphy -----
Sokolov wrote:
> Johnny Billquist <bqt(a)update.uu.se> wrote:
>
> > I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the MSCP driver from Ultrix
> > available for porting to NetBSD.
>
> I don't support NetBSD, but Ultrix' MSCP/SCA code is available to everyone.
I know you don't support it. :-)
> > The problem is that it's (c) by Digital, now HP.
>
> It is a problem only if you choose to honor copyright laws. Since that is your
> personal voluntary choice, it is your problem.
Yes, and it's *that* problem I'm looking for a solution to.
> > Could I be lucky enough that Ultrix actually have been released?
> > And I'm talking Ultrix-32 here, not Ultrix-11.
>
> The International Free Computing Task Force has freed the Ultrix-32 V2.00 and
> V4.20 sources. They can be found on our FTP site in
Freed as in "legally freed", or just "made available".
> ivan.Harhan.ORG:/pub/UNIX/thirdparty/Ultrix-32
harhan.org don't exist from where my dns is looking... :-/
Another machine I have access to managed to resolve ivan.harhan.org to
208.221.139.1, but there is no response at that address.
However, if it is just the sources, and not some legal notes available,
then I don't need to go there.
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
Johnny Billquist <bqt(a)update.uu.se> wrote:
> I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the MSCP driver from Ultrix
> available for porting to NetBSD.
I don't support NetBSD, but Ultrix' MSCP/SCA code is available to everyone.
> The problem is that it's (c) by Digital, now HP.
It is a problem only if you choose to honor copyright laws. Since that is your
personal voluntary choice, it is your problem.
> Could I be lucky enough that Ultrix actually have been released?
> And I'm talking Ultrix-32 here, not Ultrix-11.
The International Free Computing Task Force has freed the Ultrix-32 V2.00 and
V4.20 sources. They can be found on our FTP site in
ivan.Harhan.ORG:/pub/UNIX/thirdparty/Ultrix-32
--
Michael Sokolov 786 E MISSION AVE APT F
Programletarian Freedom Fighter ESCONDIDO CA 92025-2154 USA
International Free Computing Task Force Phone: +1-760-480-4575
msokolov(a)ivan.Harhan.ORG (ARPA)
Let the Source be with you
Programletarians of the world, unite!
Hi. I have a small question for you.
I'm trying to figure out a way of getting the MSCP driver from Ultrix
available for porting to NetBSD.
The problem is that it's (c) by Digital, now HP.
Does anyone know of any persons who were involved in the old days when
code was exchanged between BSD and Ultrix? Those people might be a good
starting point for getting code today as well I suspect.
Does anyone else around here have any good clues on this?
Could I be lucky enough that Ultrix actually have been released?
And I'm talking Ultrix-32 here, not Ultrix-11.
Johnny
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt(a)update.uu.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
In article by Joe Dellea:
> What does one do in such a situation?
Hi Joe, I've passed the e-mail on to some mailing lists, and hopefully
you will get some eager mail about it soon!
Good luck,
Warren
----- Forwarded message from Joe Dellea -----
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 02:35:12 -0600
From: Joe Dellea <jjdellea(a)chisp.net>
To: wkt(a)tuhs.org
Subject: heavy to ship
Proffessor Toomey:
I have an interesting problem for you....
A friend of mine here in Denver, (Colorado,US) is in posession of a
PDP 11/73 and litterally a ton of peripheral hardware- it was left in
her house by her ex-husband who more than likely dumpster-dived it while
working for the phone company. The Ex is a talented Computer guy, but a
bit of an idiot in his personal life....
Friend wants to find a new home for this machine.
Friend is erratic. Also fairly pissed off.
Could probably use some money, but mainly wants the thing to go away,
rather than calculate actual dollar value or whatever.... Would be happy
if it went to a good home.
What does one do in such a situation?
In my case, I found your web-page near the top of a Google search.....
Regards,
Joe Dellea
jjdellea(a)chisp.net
----- End of forwarded message from Joe Dellea -----
Ian King wrote:
> > I suggest you now find a multi-port beer card, insert that into a
free
> > slot, add /dev/beer to the kernel, and abuse it lots... :)
> >
> > (rumor is, that 2.9bsd has much more space available for /dev/beer
> > buffers, though, so if 2.11 doesn't allow enough of it, just take
the
> > plunge and downgrade to 2.9... ;-)
> > Should he implement uubp?
Well, that's kinda store-and-forward. A bit dated, innit? Why
not go the modern way and go straight for the splattering-type
mbdp? For those who dunno: Multicast Beer Distribution Protocol.
One catch... given the kind of stuff we want distributed, we'd better
not have any (memory and/or session) leaks...
--f
Needed to tell someone, so I thought I would tell all of you!
My PDP11/73 now has BSD2.11 installed and working. I added a DEQNA card,
rebuilt the kernel and now ping, telnet, ftp et al is working.
The joy of telneting into my '11 from a Windoze machine is beyond words!
Many thanks to Warren, Fred and Joe for all the help and advice.
Regards
Kevin
I suggest you now find a multi-port beer card, insert that into
a free slot, add /dev/beer to the kernel, and abuse it lots... :)
(rumor is, that 2.9bsd has much more space available for /dev/beer
buffers, though, so if 2.11 doesn't allow enough of it, just take
the plunge and downgrade to 2.9... ;-)
--f
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Murrell [mailto:kevin@ps8.co.uk]
> Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2002 3:04 PM
> To: Pups Mailing List
> Subject: [pups] It all works!!
>
>
> Needed to tell someone, so I thought I would tell all of you!
>
> My PDP11/73 now has BSD2.11 installed and working. I added a
> DEQNA card,
> rebuilt the kernel and now ping, telnet, ftp et al is working.
>
> The joy of telneting into my '11 from a Windoze machine is
> beyond words!
>
> Many thanks to Warren, Fred and Joe for all the help and advice.
>
> Regards
>
>
> Kevin
>
> _______________________________________________
> PUPS mailing list
> PUPS(a)minnie.tuhs.org
> http://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/pups
>
It seems as though there was considerable interest in Porting Unix v6 to i386 some months ago. This is a project that appeals to me also. I was wondering if anyone has made any headway in the project and would like to share their experience.
Hi,
I have some RD54 drives (and maybe a RD53 or so) that I want to
part with. Free for a PDP user in the Netherlands who is willing
to pick them up in Arnhem (I won't ship them)
Wilko
--
| / o / /_ _ wilko(a)FreeBSD.org
|/|/ / / /( (_) Bulte Arnhem, the Netherlands
Bilquist said (quoting Buitinck):
> > we all know that UNIX first ran on the PDP-7 and then on the PDP-11/20,
> > but does anyone know anything about PDP-9 UNIX? it\'s mentioned in \"The
> > UNIX Time-Sharing System\" in the V7 manual:
> >
> > \"The earliest [version of UNIX] (circa 1969-70) ran on the Digital
> > Equipment Corporation PDP-7 and -9 computers.\"
> Hmmm, I cannot exactly answer that, but the PDP-7 and PDP-9 were both
> 18-bit machines, and somewhat compatible, I believe.
> The whole line is (I believe):
> PDP-4 -> PDP-7 -> PDP-9 -> PDP-15
> So I guess that if you had it running on a PDP-7, you could probably
> almost take the code unmodified and run it on the PDP-9.
> The PDP-15 have a different bus (Unibus?) I believe, and thus,
> peripherials are different from the predecessors.
> This obviosuly affects the OS. :-)
The 7, 9, 15 were very compatible. I think the -15
had some scheme for using an index register, which
the earlier ones didn't have, but it was otherwise
pretty much identical in IS architecture.
There was very little rewriting to try Unix out
on the -9 and -15; perhaps just some tweaks in
the disk device commands. I don't think the
system actually ran on either for more than a few
hours. Ken was just playing around.
The -15 may have had an electrically different
bus, but I'm reasonably sure it was not a Unibus.
All of them used IOT instructions, not memory-mapped
IO registers.
Both of the machines we tried were being used by other groups
and we couldn't squat on them as with the PDP-7.
I recall that the -15's main job was controlling a
step-and-repeat camera that exposed LSI masks.
Dennis
> To: pups(a)minnie.tuhs.org
> From: Dennis Ritchie <dmr(a)plan9.bell-labs.com>
> Subject: [pups] re: PDP-9
> Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 23:55:55 -0400
>
> Bilquist said (quoting Buitinck):
>
> > > we all know that UNIX first ran on the PDP-7 and then on the PDP-11/20,
> > > but does anyone know anything about PDP-9 UNIX? it\'s mentioned in \"The
> > > UNIX Time-Sharing System\" in the V7 manual:
> > >
> > > \"The earliest [version of UNIX] (circa 1969-70) ran on the Digital
> > > Equipment Corporation PDP-7 and -9 computers.\"
>
> > Hmmm, I cannot exactly answer that, but the PDP-7 and PDP-9 were both
> > 18-bit machines, and somewhat compatible, I believe.
> > The whole line is (I believe):
>
> > PDP-4 -> PDP-7 -> PDP-9 -> PDP-15
>
> > So I guess that if you had it running on a PDP-7, you could probably
> > almost take the code unmodified and run it on the PDP-9.
> > The PDP-15 have a different bus (Unibus?) I believe, and thus,
> > peripherials are different from the predecessors.
> > This obviosuly affects the OS. :-)
>
> The 7, 9, 15 were very compatible. I think the -15
> had some scheme for using an index register, which
> the earlier ones didn't have, but it was otherwise
> pretty much identical in IS architecture.
>
> There was very little rewriting to try Unix out
> on the -9 and -15; perhaps just some tweaks in
> the disk device commands. I don't think the
> system actually ran on either for more than a few
> hours. Ken was just playing around.
>
> The -15 may have had an electrically different
> bus, but I'm reasonably sure it was not a Unibus.
> All of them used IOT instructions, not memory-mapped
> IO registers.
>
> Dennis
What I remember, as the last gasp of PDP-15 production was a
dual-processor setup, linked with a PDP-11. The intent was to take
advantage of the lower-cost Unibus peripherals. I remember the
sales literature, but do not recall ever seeing one.
carl
--
carl lowenstein marine physical lab u.c. san diego
clowenst(a)ucsd.edu