HELP! Must choose language!

[Dan Smart]

"Delaney, Timothy" <tdelaney at avaya.com> wrote in
news:mailman.1041826389.10740.python-list at python.org: 
>> From: Grant Edwards [mailto:grante at visi.com]
>> 
>> That would be an interesting approach.  I think everybody should
>> learn PDP-11 assembly and look at the instruction set at the 
>> machine level.  It
>> was a beautiful design.
It surely was. I love 'JMP .foo'[1]
> 
> The Nova 2 (also a descendent of the PDP-8) was a much nicer design
> than the PDP-11. Very consistent.
> 
I don't remember PDP11 assembler as being terribly inconsistent.

>> > I'm even hoping to teach a class that way...
>> 
>> I wonder if you could find a PDP-11 simulator and assembler 
>> somewhere...
There is very definitely a PDP11 emulator that runs on Linux, at least two 
major financial institutions[2] run their back office systems[3] on it[4]. 
Whether it is freely available, I am unsure, I will make inquiries.
> 
> I wrote as a group final-year uni project some time ago a Nova 2
> simulator called "Satori" (named after "Nova Satori" in Robotech: The
> Robotech Masters ;) I even wrote an assembler for it.
> 
> Front panel with usable switches, teletype, tape reader and puncher,
> the works. Fun stuff. Written in C on the Mac.
> 
I'd be interested in seeing that if you still have it.

Dan "I love google: www.pdp11.org" Smart

[1] Which of course is a no-op.
[2] No names, they embarass easily...
[3] Legacy Systems eh, Gor bless 'em.
[4] Parts for PDP11's are about as common as rocking horse droppings, I 
made a killing on my spare PDP11/73[5].
[5] No, you can't afford the non-spare one[6].
[6] Hasty correction, you *almost certainly* can't afford...

-- 
Dan Smart. C++ Programming and Mentoring.
cppdan at dansmart.com
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