Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index PDP is an abbreviation for Programmable Data Processor; they were a series of computers, several of them ground-breaking and very influential, made by Digital Equipment Corporation. They were given that name because at the time of their introduction, computers had a reputation of being large and expensive machines, and the PDP machines were aimed at a market which couldn't afford the larger computers. Some of the PDP machines are related to each other in families; but most have little more in common than having been made by the same company. Table of contents 1 PDP Series 2 Further Reading 3 External Links PDP Series Members of the PDP series include: PDP-1: The original PDP, an 18-bit machine used in early time-sharing operating system work, and prominent in early hacker culture. One of the first computer games, Spacewar, was developed for this machine. PDP-3: First 36-bit machine DEC designed, though DEC did not offer it as a product. The only PDP-3 was built by a customer. Architecturally it was essentially a PDP-1 stretched to 36-bit word width. PDP-4: Supposed to be a slower, cleaper alternative to the PDP-1, but not commercially successful; all later PDP 18-bit machines were based on its instruction set. PDP-5: DEC's first 12-bit machine. Introduced the instruction set later used in the PDP-8. PDP-6: 36-bit timesharing machine. Very elegant architecture. It was considered a mainframe, although small by today's standards. PDP-7: Replacement for the PDP-4; DEC's first wire-wrapped machine. The first version of Unix was for this machine. PDP-8: 12-bit machine with a tiny instruction set; DEC's first wildly successful computer. The first successful "personal computer", many were purchased by schools, university depts, and research labs; also used in the DECmate word processor and the VT-78 workstation. LINC-8: A hybrid of the LINC and PDP-8 computers; two instruction sets. Progenitor of the PDP-12. PDP-9: Successor to the PDP-7, DEC's first micro-programmed machine. PDP-10: 36-bit timesharing machine, and fairly successful over several different models. The instruction set was a slightly elaborated form of that of the PDP-6. PDP-11: 16-bit machine, widely regarded as the best 16-bit instruction set ever created, and another huge hit for DEC. Also the LSI-11, primarily for embedded systems. The VAX series was descended from it. PDP-12: Descendant of the LINC-8. PDP-14: A 12-bit machine intended as an industrial controller. PDP-15: DEC's final 18-bit machine. Their only 18-bit machine constructed from TTL integrated circuits rather than discrete transistors. PDP-16: A "roll-your-own" sort of computer using Register Transfer Modules, mainly intended for industrial control systems with more capability than the PDP-14. The PDP-16/M was introduced as a standard version of the PDP-16. Related computers: LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer), originally designed by MIT's Lincoln Labs, some built by DEC. Not in the PDP family, but important as progenitor of the PDP-12. The LINC and the PDP-8 can be considered the first minicomputers, and perhaps the first personal computers as well. The PDP-8 and PDP-11 were the most popular of the PDP series of machines. Digital never made a PDP-20, although the term was sometimes used for a PDP-10 running TOPS-20. Further Reading C. Gordon Bell, J. Craig Mudge, John E. McNamara, Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design (Digital, 1979) External Links Mark Crispin's 1986 list of PDP's This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.