computer A minicomputer sold by DEC in 1964. It had a memory cycle time of 1.75 microseconds and add time of 4 microseconds. I/O included a keyboard, printer,
paper-tape and dual transport DECtape drives (type 555).
DEC provided an "advanced"
Fortran II compiler, a Symbolic
Assembler, Editor,
DDT Debugging System, Maintenance routines and a library of arithmetic, utility and programming aids developed on the program-compatible PDP-4.
[DEC sales brochure].
The PDP-7 was considered reliable enough (when properly programmed) to be used for control of nuclear reactors and such.
Around 1970
Ken Thompson built the
operating system that became
Unix on a scavenged
PDP-7 so he could play a descendant of the
SPACEWAR game.
(1995-03-10)