RSTS-E

Updates, Information and Software for the PDP-11 RSTS/E V10.1 Operating System

In this repository I aim to collect various software updates, information and software for the RSTS/E Operating System for the PDP-11.

Most of these are for RSTS/E V10.1 which I run under emulation using SIMH PDP11 on my PiDP11 front panel.

Recently some source-kits became available on the bitsavers web site for RSTS/E V10.1 and I started investigations into fixing some Y2K issues that I had found while tinkering.

I've also zipped up a complete set of the RSTS/E V10.1 documentation. It's a very large file (1.68Gb) of PDF files and can be downloaded from my Google Drive at

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-cZsyJmAzsTWDDu5iPlD_o9_rYwahaGs/view?usp=sharing

FIT

The first of these concerned transferring files from an RT-11 disk image onto RSTS/E where the file dates should have been preserved by the FIT program. They were instead wrapping to an earlier date.

Part of the RT-11 Y2K updates to RT-11 V5.7 included using additional bits in the RT-11 date word to store dates beyond 2003. I've included the SPD here for reference (see Appendix E).

I've patched the source-code for FIT to fix this.

You'll find a context diff for the source-code changes in the cusp-updates/fit subdirectory, along with the command file I used to build this updated task image for RSTS/E V10.1. Just rename the original one in the AUXLIB$ (or SY:[0,14]) directory and copy the update (with <232> mode protection and RSX run-time system) in place.

Paul Koning's DECnet/E Updates

Paul Koning has some additional updates for DECnet/E for the Event Logger (EVTLOG.TSK) and for Async DDCMP support over a serial line.

[Update 25-Aug-2020] There's also a replacement NCP program to fix the "SHOW NODE" command.

[Update 11-Nov-2021] The DECnet/E event logger (EVTLOG.TSK) has been updated again. "There were two errors triggered by the fact that, as of 10-Nov-2021 the Julian-half-day value has the top bit set, making it look negative to PDP-11s. One was in the conversion from RSTS internal format to Julian-half-day, triggering an %integer error message. The other was in decoding such Julian-half-day values when displaying events -- doing an ASR to convert half days to whole days is not a good idea..."

[Update 05-Jan-2022] A shutdown patch has been added to Paul Koning's repository in patches/shut.cmd. This resolves a problem in RSTS V10.1 that seems to come and go with no clear pattern. The failure is a crash, sometimes a halt, during system shutdown. The cause was a write to the wrong location when removing the DCL runtime system, because of a register not being set before that action.

This shutdown patch can be installed with ONLPAT; it takes effect immediately (because it patches a non-resident overlay).

You'll find Paul's patches on his GitHub repository at

https://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff

In addition, I have included one of his patches to improve Ethernet throughput with RSTS/E V10.1 under SIMH PDP11 emulation.

You'll find this in the decnete subdirectory and a patch script nsp1.pat that you can apply with ONLPAT to the monitor SIL. The nsp1.txt file has the details.

Installing DIBOL from the PATCH$ directory

Not related to updates - but may be useful/informative and nostalgic!

I posted to the USENET newsgroup alt.sys.pdp11 recently describing how to install PDP-11 DIBOL V6.1-F from the PATCH$ directory. A full install kit exists on the system if you include patches when installing RSTS/E V10.1 - and you don't need original media to get it working. The details are here.

On the look-out for other Y2K updates for RSTS/E

I remember seeing a TK50 tape of further Y2K updates that was released by Mentec in around the 1999 timeframe. Sadly, I don't have a copy of this - but I have managed to track down the following Cover Letter for this tape. If anyone has a tape-image copy of this please let me know. It has EDT updates as well as date changes to the RT11.RTS and system utilities PIP.SAV, LINK.SAV, LIBR.SAV and SYSMAC.SML

Software

I've previously posted to various mailing lists concerning some software that enhances your nostaligia for RSTS/E. I'm adding a few disk images and a DECtape image to the software folder for the following -

PDP-11 Kermit (Kermit-11 T3.63 dated 3rd October 2006).

This is on an RL02 disk image in RSTS Level 1.2 format (label KER363) that I used to re-create various versions of Kermit-11 (for RSTS/E, RSX-11M-Plus, P/OS and RT-11). Updates were downloaded from Johnny Billquist's HECnet node MIM:: and applied to the most recent official kermit sources. You'll find the source files, batch build command files and binaries in the account [11,6]

$ mount dl0: ker363
$ dir dl0:[11,6]

A direct download link for the Kermit RL02 image is rl02-ker363.dsk

Dave Ahl's 101 BASIC computer games.

I've supplied two RL01 disk images, One in RSTS Level 1.2 format for RSTS/E V8.0 and later, and the other in the original RSTS Level 0.0 format for use under RSTS V04 to V07). The disk files have been updated so the games can be played on recent versions of BASIC-Plus. The files are in two accounts [100,100] and [100,101]. Also included on this disk is a copy of the original adventure game that was ported from a PDP-10 to run under PDP-11 Fortran by Kent Blackett and Bob Supnik. You'll find this in the account [100,102].

$ mount dl0: games

Also I've included a DECtape image (in DOS-11 format). This is directly readable by a RSTS system that includes DECtape (DT device) device support.

The RL01 GAMES disk image is rl01-games.dsk and the image for older versions of RSTS V04A to V07 is rl01-games-rsts0-0.dsk (an RL01) or rk05-games-rsts0-0.dsk (an RK05). An image of an original DECtape containing volume 1 of the games is ahl_basic_games.dta.

ZEMU - the Infocom Z-machine interpreter

This is my V2.5 (originally written by Johnny Billquist and Megan Gentry). This version includes the capability to run various Infocom interactive adventure games (like ZORK1, ZORK2, ZORK3...) under RSTS/E using the RT11 run-time system. This disk is in RT-11 format and the files need to be copied using the FIT command into an empty account on the system disk. The ZEMU.DOC file describes how to install this software.

$ create/account sy:[11,10]/name="ZEMU 2.5"
$ fit sy:[11,10]=dl0:*.*/rt

The RL02 disk image (in RT-11 format) is rl02-zemu25.dsk

Forth RTS

Some may not realise this - but a port of FIG-Forth V2 as a run-time system under RSTS/E is available if you choose to install the Unsupported software. The porting to RSTS/E was done by Paul Koning and was used as an internal RSTS/E development tool. It runs on any version of RSTS/E from V7.2 or later.

The public domain sourcecode for the Forth RTS in Macro-11 is also included in the UNSUPP$:FORTH.MAC file.

To enable the Forth RTS, add the following to your SY:[0,1]START.COM file under the section " Installing run-time systems and libraries" -

 install/runtime_system UNSUPP$:FORTH

This will add it to the system when you reboot (or alternatively you can try it out using the following)

$ run $utlmgr
Utlmgr> install/runtime_system UNSUPP$:FORTH
Utlmgr> ^Z

Forth compiled programs have a .4TH file type or you can interactively enter them by switching to the newly installed RTS. By convention, Forth source files have the .FTH file type.

For example - to multiply the integers 123 and 45 and print the result -

$ sw forth

FIG-FORTH V2.0+
123 45 * .
5535  ok

To exit back to DCL use

ccl switch dcl
$ 

Two Forth programs are included in the UNSUPP$: directory - ODT and SDA. ODT is the octal debugging tool and it handles large files; and SDA is an interactive crash dump analyser (inspired by the VMS tool of the same name). You can run like any other program -

$ run unsupp$:sda

SDA V10.1-0G for RSTS/E V10.1-0L        RSTS V10.1-L PDP11/70 SIMH

Sil <SY0:[0,1]SIMH70.SIL> ? 
[Using DU0:[0,1]SIMH70.SIL]
Crash dump file <DU0:[0,1]CRASH .SYS> ? 
[Using DU0:[0,1]CRASH .SYS]

[Help is available]

Sda> help
Type 'HELP <name>' to get help for <name>
Type 'HELP INTRODUCTION' for an introduction to SDA

HELP is available for the following functions:
        TAG->A  LB      LX      LS      L       DEFINE  TAB     E 
        USE     MODULE  M->A    %.      A.      AO.     U.R     U. 
        EXIT    FIND    .CCLS   .CCLDEF         .FCBLIST        .FILE 
        .WCB    .FCB    B       J->JCR  NARROW  2K@     .NODE   .NODEID 
        .TIME   .DATE   2%.     .POS    .       .R      CRASH   SIL
        WIDE    C->A    K@      CA.     CO.     SPACES  O.      WO. 
        SHOW 

HELP is also available for:
        DO      INTRODUCTION    FORTH   NUMBERS         SYMBOLS 

Sda> ^Z
$

The source-code for SDA is in UNSUPP$:SDA.FTH for your perusal and enjoyment.

There's also a great deal of information about Forth on the www.forth.org web site. The source-code also has information about Forth's handling of program SCREENs and files.

Microcomputer cross-assemblers etc.

In the micros subdirectory, I've added a few of the microcomputer cross-assemblers that I developed whilst an undergraduate. These were originally written in BASIC-PLUS - and the source files have been converted to a format now acceptable to both BASIC-PLUS and the PDP-11 BASIC-PLUS-2 V2.7-00 compiler. (The original source files used continuation lines of a LF CR NUL, with CR LF at the end of each statement).

Cross-assemblers for

• National Semiconductor SC/MP SCMPCA.B2S

• Intel 8080/8085 with some Zilog Z80 op-codes (using Intel/TDL-style mnemonics) X80.B2S

• MOS Technology 6502 X65.B2S

A dis-assembler for

• National Semiconductor SC/MP DISASM.B2S

and,

• A program to convert hexadecimal output from the cross-assembler to an Intel HEX format absolute loader format file INTEL.B2S

There are DCL command files to compile them, and I've included a binary task-image for each.

Background

I've been a User/Systems Programmer/System Manager/Computer Networking Engineer since my University days.

My first contact was with RSTS/E V04A-12 in 1975 on a PDP-11/20 with a Teletype model 33 console. In 1977 a PDP-11/45 was purchased along with RSX-11D for the Electrical Engineering department for research purposes. I managed to get access to this machine and was able to book one or two hour exclusive sessions in the evenings. With things being how they were in those days, an RK05 copy "came into my hands" containing the installation kit for RSTS/E V06B. I no longer have the RK05, but I do have this DECtape that contains the sysgened monitor for V06B that one day I might be able to get at!

Not being overly enthusiastic about RSX-11D, I used my allotted time to run RSTS/E and develop various cross-assemblers for 8085/Z80/6502 microcomputers. It had a VT05 console (20 lines of 72 columns) so I could do this without wasting paper!

Also at this time, a campus-wide time-sharing system using a PDP-11/45 was being deployed - at first with 16 terminals (LA30S) running RSTS/E V06B. This was later updated to an PDP-11/70 with more memory and a fleet of additional video terminals (mainly ADM3A but with a few VT52s).

I'll add more here later...

Tony