Recreating the DEC PDP-11/45

Recreate one of computing history's most influential minicomputers-and learn BASIC-PLUS along the way.

Before the personal computer, there was the minicomputer. Before graphical desktops, there were terminals. And before modern programming environments hid the machine beneath layers of abstraction, programmers could see-and understand-much more of what their computers were actually doing.

The Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11/45 was one of the landmark machines of that era.

Recreating the DEC PDP-11/45 is a hands-on guide to rebuilding the PDP-11/45 experience on a modern computer using emulation, historical operating-system software, and BASIC-PLUS.

Rather than simply describing the PDP-11 as a historical artifact, this book takes you into the machine.

You will learn how to:

• Install and configure a PDP-11 emulator.
• Build a virtual PDP-11/45 environment.
• Configure virtual memory, storage, and peripherals.
• Understand the PDP-11 registers and instruction architecture.
• Boot a historically appropriate operating environment.
• Work with RSTS/E and its timesharing environment.
• Enter and use BASIC-PLUS.
• Write, save, modify, and execute BASIC-PLUS programs.
• Work with variables, arrays, loops, branches, and subroutines.
• Perform file input and output.
• Build interactive applications.
• Examine PDP-11 memory and registers.
• Write introductory PDP-11 assembly-language programs.
• Understand interrupts, devices, and the Unibus.
• Create multiple simulated users.
• Build a complete small timesharing environment.
• Troubleshoot and restore the virtual system.