SLSW2@cc.usu.edu (Roger Ivie) (01/18/90)
In article <457@ns-mx.uiowa.edu>, jones@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879) writes: > It's not the PDP series, it's the PDP-11 series. The PDP-11 was a 16 > bit machine, the PDP-8 was an unrelated 8 bit machine, the PDP-10 was > an unrelated 36 bit machine, and the PDP-15 was an unrelated 18 bit > machine. All were made by DEC, many used compatible hardware at some > level, but there was not one PDP series in any useful sense. > Actually, the PDP-8 was a 12-bit machine. Rumor has it that the VAX 11/780 has, in addition to it's PDP-11 compatibility mode, a hidden PDP-8 compatibility mode. My rumor monger never explained how to turn it on, so I don't know if this is true. > Now for the folklore: > > PDP-11/78 -- a paper machine, intended to outperform the 11/70, > with improved support for 32 bit operands. > PDP-11/76 -- a dual-processor PDP-11/70 that was never marketed for fear of squashing the (then brand-new) VAX-11/780. =============================================================================== Roger Ivie 35 S 300 W Logan, Ut. 84321 (801) 752-8633 ===============================================================================
gkn@ucsd.Edu (Gerard K. Newman) (01/19/90)
In article <16864@cc.usu.edu> SLSW2@cc.usu.edu (Roger Ivie) writes: > >PDP-11/76 -- a dual-processor PDP-11/70 that was never marketed for fear > of squashing the (then brand-new) VAX-11/780. Actually, I think it was called an 11/74, which was indeed a multi-headed PDP-11/70. There was code to support it in RSX-11M-Plus, which I think I still have a listing of that I prop my feet on when I'm working at home. At least one such beastie was built, and was (at least in 1983) connected to DEC's E-net as nodes CASTOR and POLLUX (I think, it's been a long time). I'll check the listing when I go home tonight and see what it really says. Cheers, gkn San Diego Supercomputer Center