DEC

• Running 4K FORTRAN on a DEC PDP-8

  14 July 2009   Tags: DEC     Retro     PDP-8     FORTRAN     Programming     Tutorial    
  4K FORTRAN was a subset of FORTRAN II and was the first high-level language available for the DEC PDP-8. It consisted of two parts: the 4K FORTRAN Compiler (nicknamed “Fivetran”) and the 4K FORTRAN Operating System. The compiler was written by Larry Portner and the operating system wa...   Read More
  
  

• A Quickstart Guide to Editing Paper Tape With the Symbolic Tape Editor on the DEC PDP-8

  16 June 2009   Tags: DEC     Retro     PDP-8     Editors     Tutorial    
  Before re-writable storage devices, such as tape drives, become popular for the DEC PDP-8, owners had to rely on paper tape. This was fine for loading programs on pre-punched tape, but left the problem of how to put new data onto punched tape and how to edit existing data. This could be done off-...   Read More
  
  

• Emulating a DEC PDP-8 with SimH

  26 May 2009   Tags: Emulation     DEC     PDP-8     Retro     SimH     Tutorial    
  The DEC PDP-8 mini-computer was launched on 22 March 1965 and was a great success. It was fairly cheap for the day and could easily be expanded. What attracts me most to the PDP-8 is its simple design. I therefore decided to experiment with the SimH emulation of this machine, but found that the d...   Read More
  
  

• PDP 8 in 'Three Days of the Condor'

  14 October 2008   Tags: Computers in Movies     DEC     PDP-8     Retro    
  I watched ‘Three Days of the Condor’ the other night and loved seeing what I believe is a Dec PDP 8/E being used. Also featured in connection with this machine was a DecWriter, paper tape reader and possibly a VT-52 video terminal. The film revolves around a CIA researcher, Robert Re...   Read More