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PDP-11
EntityQ1327833· pop 24· linked from 631 articles

The PDP-11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers originally sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the late 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of all models were sold, making it one of DEC's most successful product lines. The PDP-11 is considered by some experts to be the most popular minicomputer.

In the Vinony graph

Within Vinony's link graph, PDP-11 is referenced by 631 other articles, and connects out to integrated circuit, Berkeley Software Distribution and original equipment manufacturer.

Vinony files it under 16-bit computers, Computer-related introductions in 1970 and PDP-11.

Its subject is documented across 24 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Computing device.name
PDP-11
Computing device.logo
frameless|class=skin-invert
Computing device.image
Pdp-11-40.jpg
Computing device.caption
A PDP-11/40 CPU is at the bottom, with a TU56 dual DECtape drive installed above it.
Computing device.developer
Digital Equipment Corporation
Computing device.family
Programmed Data Processor
Computing device.type
Minicomputer
Computing device.lifespan
1970–1997
Computing device.units_sold
around 600,000
Computing device.os
BATCH-11/DOS-11, DSM-11, IAS, P/OS, RSTS/E, RSX-11, RT-11, Ultrix-11, Seventh Edition Unix, SVR1, 2BSD
Computing device.platform
PDP-11 architecture
Computing device.successor
VAX-11

via Wikipedia infobox

Described at

A brief tour of the PDP-11, the most influential minicomputer of all time - Ars Technica

It helped popularize the interactive computing paradigm we take for granted today.

arstechnica.com

Link to a page describing this subject · 40,000 chars · not written by Vinony

Wikidata facts

Image
DEC PDP-11-40 Minicomputer, 1973, Technisches Museum Wien (edited, white background).jpg
Show 3 more facts
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~36 min read

Encyclopedic overview

34 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Previous machines
  • Release
  • Innovative features
  • Instruction set orthogonality
  • No dedicated I/O instructions
  • Interrupts
  • Designed for mass production
  • LSI-11 integrated circuits
  • Decline
  • Models
  • Unibus models
  • Q-bus models
  • Models without standard bus
  • Models that were planned but never introduced
  • Special-purpose versions
  • Unlicensed clones
  • Operating systems
  • From Digital
  • From third parties
  • Communications
  • Peripherals
  • Use
  • Games
  • Emulators
  • Ersatz-11
  • SIMH
  • See also
  • Notes
  • Explanatory citations
  • Citations
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

The PDP-11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers originally sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the late 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of all models were sold, making it one of DEC's most successful product lines. The PDP-11 is considered by some experts to be the most popular minicomputer.

The PDP-11 included a number of innovative features in its instruction set and additional general-purpose registers that made it easier to program than earlier models in the PDP series. Further, the innovative Unibus system allowed external devices to be more easily interfaced to the system using direct memory access, opening the system to a wide variety of peripherals. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time computing applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years. The ease of programming of the PDP-11 made it popular for general-purpose computing.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “PDP-11” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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