PDP-9
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| Developer | Digital Equipment Corporation |
|---|---|
| Product family | Programmed Data Processor |
| Type | Minicomputer |
| Release date | 1966 |
| Units sold | 445 |
| Media | Paper tape |
| Platform | DEC 18-bit |
| Mass | 750 pounds (340 kg) |
| Predecessor | PDP-7 |
| Successor | PDP-15 |
ThePDP-9,the fourth of the five 18-bitminicomputersproduced byDigital Equipment Corporation,was introduced in 1966.[1]: P.10 A total of 445 PDP-9 systems were produced,[2]of which 40 were the compact, low-cost PDP-9/L units.[3]
History
[edit]The 18-bit PDP systems preceding the PDP-9 are thePDP-1,PDP-4andPDP-7.Its successor is thePDP-15.
Hardware
[edit]The PDP-9, which is "two metres wide and about 75cm deep,"[4]is approximately twice the speed of the PDP-7. It was built using discrete transistors, and has an optional integratedvector graphicsterminal. The PDP-9 has a memory cycle time of 1 microsecond, and weighs about 750 pounds (340 kg).[5]: 1-7–1-8 The PDP-9/L has a memory cycle time of 1.5 microseconds, and weighs about 900 pounds (410 kg).[6]: 1-1, 15-8
It is DEC's first microprogrammed machine.[7][5]: 3-16
A typical configuration included:[2]
- 300 cpspaper tapereader
- 50 cps paper tape punch
- 10 cpsconsole teleprinter, Model 33 KSR
Among the improvements of the PDP-9 over its PDP-7 predecessor are:
- the addition of status flags for reader and punch errors, thus providing added flexibility and for error detection[8]
- an entirely new design for multi-level interrupts, called the Automatic Priority Interrupt (API) option
- a more advanced form of memory management[9]
User/university-based research projects for extending the PDP-9 include:
- a hardware capability forfloating-point arithmetic,at a time when machines in this price range used software for floating-point arithmetic[10]
- a PDP-9 controlled parallel computer[11]
Software
[edit]The system came with an OS that functions as single-user keyboard monitor, called ADSS (ADvanced Software System).[12]DECsys provided an interactive, single-user, program development environment forFortranand assembly language programs.[13]
Both FORTRAN II[2]and FORTRAN IV[14]were implemented for the PDP-9.
MUMPSwas originally developed on the PDP-7, and ran on several PDP-9s at theMassachusetts General Hospital.
Sales
[edit]ThePDP-7,of which 120 were sold,[1]: p.8 was described as "highly successful".[2]The PDP-9 sold 445 units. Both have submodels, the PDP-7A[NB 1]and the PDP-9/L,[NB 2]neither of which accounted for a substantial percentage of sales.[1][NB 3]
See also
[edit]- Programmed Data Processor
- PDP-15- successor to the PDP-9
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcDIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION - Nineteen Fifty-Seven To The Present(PDF).Digital Equipment Corporation. 1975.
- ^abcd"RI Computer Museum, DEC PDP-9, System Number 319".
- ^."The Early Architectures of DEC".
- ^"David Millson - 50 years".
- ^abPDP-9 Maintenance Manual, Volume 1(PDF).April 1972.
- ^PDP-9/L User Handbook(PDF).June 1968.
- ^C. Gordon Bell;Gerald Butler; Robert Gray; John E. McNamara; Donald Vonada; Ronald Wilson (1978)."Chapter 6: The PDP-1 and Other 18-bit Computers".In C. Gordon Bell; J. Craig Mudge; John E. McNamara (eds.).Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design.Digital Press.pp. 154–155.ISBN0-932376-00-2.
- ^Bob Supnik."Architectural Evolution in DEC's 18b Computers"(PDF).
- ^"PDP 9 Simulator Configuration".GitHub.
- ^Ben Milton Huey (1969).Design of a floating point processor for the PDP-9 computer(MSc thesis). University of Arizona.
- ^Wokhlu, Roop Krishen (1969).The logic design of a PDP-9 controlled parallel computer(MSc thesis). University of Arizona.
- ^Digital Equipment Corporation."Software Product Description, ADSS-B/F-15, Version SC, Advanced Software System, B/F"(PDF).
- ^Bob Supnik (19 June 2006)."Technical Notes on DECsys"(PDF).
- ^"User Manual - Linkage - PDP-9 Facilities"(PDF).Carnegie-Mellon UniversityHybrid Computation Laboratory. September 1968.Retrieved19 September2017.
