Programmed Data Processor

PDP is the name given to many different computer manufacturer Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC, now HP ). PDP is an abbreviation for Programmable Data Processor Programmed Data Processor or.

Survey

In order not to enter into direct competition with the mighty IBM, DEC avoided in the 60s the word computer in the name of their computer. Instead, the company called their devices programmable data processor. The PDP computers were starting at the small PDP-1 (18 -bit word length, default 4096 memory words ) numbered in the order of their development ( about the lack of PDP and PDP -2 -3, there are still rumors). This related systems never have consecutive numbers. Overall, there were 1959-1982 more than 60 PDP models, which were distributed among four families of systems and partly also with each other made ​​their competition:

  • The 18 -bit family of PDP 1, the PDP 4, the PDP 7, the PDP and PDP -15 -9
  • The 12-bit family of PDP 5, the PDP 8, the PDP 12, the PDP 14 and the PDP 16
  • The 36 -bit family of PDP and PDP-10 -6
  • 16/32-Bit-Familie with the PDP -11 and VAX

From the most successful PDP computers, there were many variants of each, such as the PDP -8: -8 / S, -8 / I, -8 / L, -8 / E, -8 / M, -8 / A.

The most famous and successful PDP was the PDP - 11th

Many PDPs were relatively inexpensive ( the PDP - 8, it was for less than $ 20,000 ) and found so fast spreading in universities and as a process computer, for example, in the computerization of the U.S. telephone network from AT & T. At the other end of the price scale are classed as mainframe 36 -bit computer PDP -6 and PDP -10, which could cost several million U.S. $ with appropriate configuration documents.

An example of the history of technology application of the PDP-8 's Multiplex Olympia 80 in the 1970s.

The PDPs were first classic, that is, from discrete components such as transistors built, then from integrated TTL circuits, DEC later proceeded to the processors on a single IC to integrate (T11, J11 ).

In addition to the increasing integration of the components and the connection technology has experienced major progress. The connecting plane between the print cards consisted initially of thousands of individual winding connections (English Wire Wrap). As a major step forward ( a special version of a bus ( data processing )) was the version PDP -8 / E for the first time the so-called omnibus introduced as a replacement, which also allowed a flexible, modular expansion of the system by additional modules. The Swiss project manager of the development of the PDP -8 / E has also published a review.

The much higher packing density allowed then, a complete PDP -11 to accommodate a Q- bus card and build with this PDP - 11s multiprocessor systems. Under the name MicroPDP DEC brought a number of PDP - 11s as a desktop (Personal ) computers on the market, in which these processors were also used. In the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, a MicroPDP replica was produced under the name Elektronika BK- 0010.

Models (selection)

  • PDP-1
  • PDP -7
  • PDP-8 -8 / -8 E / I -8 / S
  • PDP-10 -10 / -10 B / C -10/Mk.III
  • PDP-11
  • PDP -16 ( last model )
  • DECsystem -20 was a PDP -10 TOPS-20 operating system

Operating Systems

The following operating systems ran on PDP computers:

  • BSD ( PDP 11)
  • OS / 8 (PDP -8)
  • POS ( PDP 11)
  • RT -11 ( PDP 11)
  • RSX -15, first called DEX -15, 1969 ( PDP -15)
  • RSX -11 (PDP -11)
  • RSTS ( PDP 11)
  • IAS (PDP -11)
  • ULTRIX -11 (PDP -11)
  • DOS -11 ( PDP 11)
  • μPowerPascal
  • UNIX ( PDP 7, the PDP -11)
  • VMS, OpenVMS later (PDP -11)
  • ITS ( PDP -10)
  • TOPS -10 ( PDP -10)
  • TENEX (PDP -10)
Hewlett-Packard 1960 Electronika BK PDP-7 OS/8 RT-11 RSX-11 Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome Incompatible Timesharing System TOPS-10
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