PDP-10 BASIC V17D,17E,17F
Carlo Zanziba
anyone here using PDP-10 BASIC in versions 17D, 17E or 17F from mid
Seventies? If so, could you post some listings? or some help file? or
some documentation?
Thanks.
-- Carlo
jmfbahciv
If you need to know the number, drop a post and I'll get up and
look for the Notebook number.
/BAH
Rich Alderson
The HELP file for 17F is available without logging in on DEC-10.PDPPLANET.ORG
(216.220.192.182), the Living Computer Museum's DECSYSTEM-2065 running Tops-10
v7.04. Simply telnet to the system and type HELP BASIC at the prompt.
If you would like an account on the system, please visit our web site at
http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/ and go to the Community button.
--
Rich Alderson "You get what anybody gets. You get a lifetime."
ne...@alderson.users.panix.com --Death, of the Endless
Carlo Zanziba
Thanks, I' like you to; and can you explain what the Notebooks are? Or
where to look for download?
Thanks again.
-- Antonio
Carlo Zanziba
-- Antonio
jmfbahciv
My apologies for not answering earlier.
Each operating system that DEC supported included a set of 3-ring
2" or 3" binders that had all the documentation you would need to
run and use that system and the OS. Each OS had a color assigned
to it and the notebooks were that color. Most OSes required
10-19 or 20 notebooks, so our customers started to call it the
[fill in color] wall. TOPS-10 was white. TOPS-20 was orange.
There was mauve (RSX11-M?) light blue, dark blue....I cannot remember
any of the PDP-11 colors. A PDP-12 would have been green.
Shoot. I've forgotten the color assignments. Dangit.
A notebook set would have installation, operation, user, some
hardware, usually the CPU, languages, assembler, CUSPs (programs
such as editors, file movement, printing, spooling, batch,
debuggers, etc. which are useful for users), network,
getting started with [fill in with any software sub-system], etc.
I think that most of these docs have been scanned by Al and Eric
and are available in bitsavers or trailing-edge servers.
/BAH
Carlo Zanziba
> Each operating system that DEC supported included a set of 3-ring
> 2" or 3" binders that had all the documentation you would need to
> run and use that system and the OS. Each OS had a color assigned
> to it and the notebooks were that color. Most OSes required
> 10-19 or 20 notebooks, so our customers started to call it the
> [fill in color] wall. TOPS-10 was white. TOPS-20 was orange.
> There was mauve (RSX11-M?) light blue, dark blue....I cannot remember
> any of the PDP-11 colors. A PDP-12 would have been green.
>
> Shoot. I've forgotten the color assignments. Dangit.
>
> A notebook set would have installation, operation, user, some
> hardware, usually the CPU, languages, assembler, CUSPs (programs
> such as editors, file movement, printing, spooling, batch,
> debuggers, etc. which are useful for users), network,
> getting started with [fill in with any software sub-system], etc.
>
> I think that most of these docs have been scanned by Al and Eric
> and are available in bitsavers or trailing-edge servers.
>
> /BAH
Peeping into bitsavers, I found this link:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp10/TOPS10_softwareNotebooks/
There are dozens of documents, so my question is: May you give the
notebook number in which some BASIC doc is contained? I'm referring to
DEC-10 BASIC Version 17D,17E or 17F.
And BTW: thanks for your answer: no matter if it was delayed.
Carlo
jmfbahciv
I cannot be sure. Perk took my set of software notebooks and
left his set which is missing 45% of the docs; (I was extremely
annoyed and still am every time I want to look something up).
The spine on my Notebook 8 says BASIC. That would be the doc
I would give you. However, the only thing I have in that
notebook is a BLISS-10 doc that has 50% missing. Now I'm really
annoyed. he could have at least left sections intact.
>
> And BTW: thanks for your answer: no matter if it was delayed.
It was delayed because I had meant to walk into my study, undo
all the tarps and find the book you wanted ;-). And then
I forgot that's what I needed to do before I answered your post.
Thanks for asking the question again.
/BAH
Al Kossow
> There are dozens of documents, so my question is: May you give the
> notebook number in which some BASIC doc is contained?
MasterTableOfContentsJan89.txt
NOTEBOOK 6
BASIC Conversational Language Manual AA-C859A-TB (DEC-10-LBLMA-A-D)
jmfbahciv
in it, though.
/BAH
KarenAnne
wrote:
I just stumbled across this thread since I don't follow this group. I
worked on PDP-10 BASIC until the early seventies. I'll help you out
if you have questions (but not including scanning in the entire
conversational BASIC manual :-) You can contact me at
katko...@cox.net I no longer have the source listings
unfortunately. I kept them for years but finally they went out to
recycling.
Karen
Al Kossow
> I just stumbled across this thread since I don't follow this group. I
> worked on PDP-10 BASIC until the early seventies. I'll help you out
> if you have questions (but not including scanning in the entire
> conversational BASIC manual :-) You can contact me at
> katko...@cox.net I no longer have the source listings
> unfortunately. I kept them for years but finally they went out to
> recycling.
>
They should be on the LCG backup tapes that the Computer History Museum
has. Would you remember where they would have been kept? (there are a lot
of them to look through).
KarenAnne
> On 1/2/10 5:52 AM, KarenAnne wrote:
>
> > I just stumbled across this thread since I don't follow this group. I
> > worked on PDP-10 BASIC until the early seventies. I'll help you out
> > if you have questions (but not including scanning in the entire
> > conversational BASIC manual :-) You can contact me at
> > unfortunately. I kept them for years but finally they went out to
> > recycling.
>
> They should be on the LCG backup tapes that the Computer History Museum
> has. Would you remember where they would have been kept? (there are a lot
> of them to look through).
Uh. I'm trying to roll my brain back 35 years or so. As I recall,
the sources were periodically sent to customers on several magtapes.
One set of tapes had the OS, and the other set had the compilers,
etc. Do they have those tapes? Or just backups of the disks?
Initially the customer "sets" just consisted of one magtape for the OS
and one magtape for the other stuff.
If they have the customer tapes, the structure, even though I can't
remember it at the moment, should be apparent. And you should have
decent versions, as opposed to just whatever was on the disks at the
moment. Actually, I have the dim idea that a paper listing of the
directory of the customer tapes went with them.
I'll try to resurrect more from my personal very long term mental
storage :-) and let you know if anything surfaces.
jmfbahciv
> On Jan 2, 1:47 pm, Al Kossow <a...@bitsavers.org> wrote:
>> On 1/2/10 5:52 AM, KarenAnne wrote:
>>
>>> I just stumbled across this thread since I don't follow this group. I
>>> worked on PDP-10 BASIC until the early seventies. I'll help you out
>>> if you have questions (but not including scanning in the entire
>>> conversational BASIC manual :-) You can contact me at
>>> katkoll...@cox.net I no longer have the source listings
>>> unfortunately. I kept them for years but finally they went out to
>>> recycling.
>> They should be on the LCG backup tapes that the Computer History Museum
>> has. Would you remember where they would have been kept? (there are a lot
>> of them to look through).
>
>
> Uh. I'm trying to roll my brain back 35 years or so. As I recall,
> the sources were periodically sent to customers on several magtapes.
> One set of tapes had the OS, and the other set had the compilers,
> etc. Do they have those tapes? Or just backups of the disks?
> Initially the customer "sets" just consisted of one magtape for the OS
> and one magtape for the other stuff.
It sounds like you are talking about the CUSPs?
>
> If they have the customer tapes, the structure, even though I can't
> remember it at the moment, should be apparent. And you should have
> decent versions, as opposed to just whatever was on the disks at the
> moment. Actually, I have the dim idea that a paper listing of the
> directory of the customer tapes went with them.
>
> I'll try to resurrect more from my personal very long term mental
> storage :-) and let you know if anything surfaces.
/BAH