Developer | Digital Equipment Corporation |
---|---|
Product family | Programmed Data Processor |
Type | Minicomputer |
Release date | 1966; 59 years ago (1966) |
Units sold | 445 |
Media | Paper tape, DECtape |
Platform | DEC 18-bit |
Weight | 750 pounds (340 kg) |
Predecessor | PDP-7 |
Successor | PDP-15 |
The PDP-9, the fourth of the five 18-bit minicomputers produced by Digital Equipment Corporation, was introduced in 1966. A total of 445 PDP-9 systems were produced, of which 40 were the compact, low-cost PDP-9/L units.
History
The 18-bit PDP systems preceding the PDP-9 are the PDP-1, PDP-4 and PDP-7. Its successor is the PDP-15.
Hardware
The PDP-9, which is "two metres wide and about 75cm deep," is approximately twice the speed of the PDP-7. It was built using discrete transistors, and has an optional integrated vector graphics terminal. The PDP-9 has a memory cycle time of 1 microsecond, and weighs about 750 pounds (340 kg). The PDP-9/L has a memory cycle time of 1.5 microseconds, and weighs about 900 pounds (410 kg).
It is DEC's first microprogrammed machine.
A typical configuration included:
- 300 cps paper tape reader
- 50 cps paper tape punch
- DECtape for operating system and user files
- 10 cps console 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
- an entirely new design for multi-level interrupts, called the Automatic Priority Interrupt (API) option
- a more advanced form of memory management
User/university-based research projects for extending the PDP-9 include:
- a hardware capability for floating-point arithmetic, at a time when machines in this price range used software for floating-point arithmetic
- a PDP-9 controlled parallel computer
Software
The system came with an OS that functions as single-user keyboard monitor, called ADSS (ADvanced Software System). DECsys provided an interactive, single-user, program development environment for Fortran and assembly language programs.
Both FORTRAN II and FORTRAN IV were implemented for the PDP-9.
MUMPS was originally developed on the PDP-7, and ran on several PDP-9s at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Sales
The PDP-7, of which 120 were sold, was described as "highly successful". The PDP-9 sold 445 units. Both have submodels, the PDP-7A and the PDP-9/L, neither of which accounted for a substantial percentage of sales.
See also
- Programmed Data Processor
- PDP-15 - successor to the PDP-9
Notes
- sometimes identified by customers and media as PDP-7/A
- yes, DEC had a "slash" for the 9/L but not for the 7A
- directly mentioned for one, calculated in the other case
References
- ^ DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION - Nineteen Fifty-Seven To The Present (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. 1975.
- ^ "RI Computer Museum, DEC PDP-9, System Number 319".
- ."The Early Architectures of DEC".
- "David Millson - 50 years".
- ^ PDP-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. ISBN 0-932376-00-2.
- Bob Supnik. "Architectural Evolution in DEC's 18b Computers" (PDF).
- "PDP 9 Simulator Configuration". GitHub.com.
- 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 University Hybrid Computation Laboratory. September 1968. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
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