Other PDP11 simulators

From: Ron Hudson <ron.hudson_at_sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sat Oct 2 10:52:20 2004

On Oct 1, 2004, at 11:15 PM, Tom Jennings wrote:

>>> Are there any PDP11 simulators that run "right down on the iron" of
>>> a PC?
>
>> What do you mean "right down on the iron"? You couldn't run PDP-11
>> binaries
>> on i386 hardware, if that's what you mean. Do you mean something
>> that is
>> effectively a self-contained operating system, that will boot up and
>> just be a
>> PDP-11 emulator?
>
> An x86 runs x86 code, an '11 runs '11 code. To make the twain
> meet you need a simulator or an AWFUL LOT of transistors. What's
> wrong with one of the OS-loaded simulators?
>
>

Well, two things... I would like the simulator to be able to use the
serial ports, and perhaps a
serial service board and the parallel port for a printer.

Also I would like the simulator to become available without user
intervention (though I suppose I would still have to enter the
3 ^j s for RSTS to come up.

Right now I login to my linux box as root, cd to the /opt/simh
directory,
run screen (so I can detach from the simulator once I get RSTS going)
run simh with a startup file, type what I need to to bring RSTS up,
then detach.

What do you have to do with a real PDP-11 to get to
the point where RSTS is running and people can login?


In my ideal simulator, The screen and keyboard (and mouse) would be the
operator console and
keyboard/screen of KB0: (put the vga monitor into 50x80 and use the
top half for the op console
and the bottom 24x80 for vt100 (hazeltine?) emulation. (or even
decwriter of some sort emulation where
the lines off the screen are buffered and can be scrolled back to or
dumped to the printer)

If I wanted to make things more simple, I could have the 80x25 screen
switch between KB0: and op console.


I suppose a third mode would let me attach and detach files to
simulated devices without stopping the
simulation.

I suppose I ask too much.. :^)
Received on Sat Oct 02 2004 - 10:52:20 BST