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<div dir="auto">Re: [Simh] pdp11 fails MAINDEC CPU test 14 D0NA</div>
<div dir="auto">From: Johnny Billquist bqt@softjar.se</div>
<div dir="auto">Date: Jul 9, 7:29 PM</div>
<div dir="auto">To: Paul Koning paulkoning@comcast.net</div>
<div dir="auto">CC: Paul Moore paulmoore100@hotmail.com, simh@trailing-edge.com</div>
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<div dir="auto">On 2020-07-10 02:19, Paul Koning wrote:</div>
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<div dir="auto">The VAX architecture seems to have been an explicit design effort. For the Alpha this was even more obvious, where a monstrously large book (certainly 500 pages, maybe double that) was written and reviewed in depth before anything was cast into silicon. Not so for the PDP11, as you pointed out.</div>
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<div dir="auto">It definitely was an explicit effort. I seem to remember seeing/reading </div>
<div dir="auto">somewhere at some point that this was because of what had happened on </div>
<div dir="auto">the PDP-11. So a lesson learned kind of thing.</div></blockquote></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">The VAX architecture was indeed an explicit effort, but more than that, it was developed in conjunction with VMS. The hardware was developed to run the OS that was written to run the hardware.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I know because my Dad told me some stories of when he was on the VAX-B design team, having been on the RSX-11M project, so he came with Cutler's say so, I presume. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">In typical Ken Olson fashion, there were two teams set up to "fight" with each other. The VAX-B team would review everything the VAX-A team did, kick the tires, find flaws, and suggest additions or improvements. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Everything was hashed out on paper before anything materialized. I'm not clear on where Gordon Bell fit into the process. He may have handed commandments down like Moses and everyone implemented them.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div id="aqm-original" style="color: black;" dir="auto"><blockquote type="cite" class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0 0 0 0.75ex; border-left: 1px solid #808080; padding-left: 0.75ex;"><div dir="auto"></div>
<div dir="auto">I used to have an Alpha Architecture manual, but I lost it somewhere </div>
<div dir="auto">along the way. :-(</div></blockquote></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I do. Somewhere. Hmmm.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Phil Mendelsohn</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif;">"Behind the times, but ahead of the game."</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: sans-serif;">--Becky Mendelsohn</div></div><div dir="auto"><br></div>
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