The PDP-12 (Programmed Data Processor) is a computer that was created by

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...

(DEC) in 1969 and marketed specifically for science and engineering.see Mini-Computer section and press see more, then press see more again It is the third in the

LINC The LINC (Laboratory INstrument Computer) is a 12-bit, 2048-word transistorized computer. The LINC is considered by some to be the first minicomputer and a forerunner to the personal computer. Originally named the Linc, suggesting the project' ...

family and its main uses were for applications in chemistry, applied psychology, patient monitoring and industrial testing. It is the combination of the

computer and the

PDP-8 The PDP-8 is a family of 12-bit minicomputers that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units sold during the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pi ...

and can run programs for either computer. It features a single central processor with two distinct operating modes, each with its own

instruction set In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, s ...

that allows it to run both computers' programs. A PDP-12 Basic System weighs about . Because it is the combination of two different computers, it is very versatile. It can be a laboratory-oriented machine with several facilities for I/O, auxiliary storage, and control and sensing for external equipment or a general purpose computer with a flexible I/O capability that can support multiple

peripheral A peripheral device, or simply peripheral, is an auxiliary hardware device that a computer uses to transfer information externally. A peripheral is a hardware component that is accessible to and controlled by a computer but is not a core compo ...

devices. The basic package came with dual LINCtape drives, a scope display and I/O ports for interfacing with external laboratory equipment and peripherals. In addition to a display-based OS other software packages were included for data acquisition and display,

Fourier analysis In mathematics, Fourier analysis () is the study of the way general functions may be represented or approximated by sums of simpler trigonometric functions. Fourier analysis grew from the study of Fourier series, and is named after Joseph Fo ...

and

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

Operating systems

Although an

OS/8 OS/8 is the primary operating system used on the Digital Equipment Corporation's PDP-8 minicomputer. PDP-8 operating systems which precede OS/8 include: * R-L Monitor, also referred to as MS/8. * P?S/8, requiring only 4K of memory. * PDP-8 4K ...

variant named OS/12 is the predominant PDP-12 operating system, there were two prior ones: * LAP6-DIAL (Display Interactive Assembly Language) * DIAL-MS (Mass Storage; this is an 8K version of LAP6-DIAL)

Production and training

Less than a year after its introduction the PDP-12 already had over 400 orders placed and in total 725 units were manufactured before being discontinued in 1972. Since it was used as laboratory equipment DEC offered a two-week "hands-on" programming course with the purchase of the computer. Classes were held at the main plant in Maynard, Massachusetts or in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

in the US, and also available in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the United Kingdom,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in Germany or Paris, France.

Operating systems

Production and training

See also

References

Further reading