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From: spf@clyde.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.org.decus,comp.misc,comp.sources.wanted,comp.sys.dec
Subject: Re: Help: PRO-350 / PDP 11-23
Message-ID: <7683@clyde.ATT.COM>
Date: Mon, 23-Mar-87 15:26:39 EST
Article-I.D.: clyde.7683
Posted: Mon Mar 23 15:26:39 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Mar-87 04:36:38 EST
References: <2811@well.UUCP>
Sender: nuucp@clyde.ATT.COM
Reply-To: spf@bonnie.UUCP (Steve Frysinger)
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Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ
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Xref: utgpu comp.org.decus:86 comp.misc:390 comp.sources.wanted:780 comp.sys.dec:114

In article <2811@well.UUCP> ch@well.UUCP (Chris Hayes) writes:
>I have an enhanced PDP 11-23 (actually a PRO-350), and I need advice about
>getting software for it.
>The operating system I have for it is P/OS, which is a derivative of
>RSX-11M-Plus.  As a result, I can run either P/OS tasks, or RSX ones with
>certain limitations.

I think P/OS *IS* RSX; the P/OS "Toolkit" merely gives you DCL access to it.

>1)	Is it possible to use the DECUS C compiler with this machine?
>	Does DECUS (or anyone else) have a task-builder I can use?

I have Whitesmith's C compiler and DEC's Pascal compiler.  For the
informal programs I wrote, the Pascal produced code that was about
the same size but about 50% faster.  So I only use Pascal...

>2)	Is there anyone on the net that either has public domain RSX / POS
>	software I can have, or who has software for this machine that
>	they are willing to sell or trade?
>
>3)	Since this is a PDP-11, I should be able to run other operating
>	systems / software than P/OS, what is available in this area?

You can get RT-11 from DEC, Venix from VentureCom, and TSX from
whoever it is that you can get TSX from (oh well).
Of these, I've only used Venix (I run P/OS on mine because I need
the real-time multiprocessing features that RSX offers).  Venix is
passable Unix, and claims to have real-time support in the kernel
(pre-emptable processes, asynch I/O, 1/60 second sleep increments,
etc), though I've never tested these.  Trouble is, it'll run you 
about a grand.

I got my PRO-350 on the cheap, since I'm a professional part-time
grad student at Stevens (I'm getting ready to finish my second
Masters - if I don't start another, I might lose the cheap maintenance
contract!).  Sometimes I'm tempted to upgrade to a 380, or get a
bigger hard disk (I have 10Meg), or get Venix, or all three.  But
then I remember that the PRO series has been abandoned, and that
only weirdos like me get nostalgic about PDP-11s, so I drag my feet
about spending the money.  All the software I got came with the
machine (more or less - it's amazing what gets passed around
college campuses these days).  And when RSX-11 was *CURRENT*
the phrase "public-domain" had not been coined with respect to
computing.  So good luck!  And by all means,
	 LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU FIND!!!!!

Steve Frysinger
201/386-7010