NEWSLETTER - PS/8 - OS/8 - OS/12 - DS/8

This November 1973 newsletter (Number 9) for the PS/8, OS/8, OS/12, and DS/8 systems, coordinated by Bob Hassinger, announces key updates and resources. It informs readers about the upcoming DECUS Fall Symposium in San Francisco, highlighting its relevance for OS/8 users and noting that John Alderman will lead the Special Interest Group Workshop.

A significant portion details new conventions for OS/8 device handlers, particularly for cassette tapes. Device handler writers are instructed on how to handle "zero block" read/write commands: non-file structured devices should ignore such commands or write an end-of-file mark without returning an error, while file-structured devices should interpret them as a 20-block transfer. The newsletter also mentions a revision to PIP11, submitted to DECUS to correct an error and eliminate the need for EAE.

Finally, the document provides a list of various programs available through DECUS, including system components like DECsystem-8 Version 1.2, utilities such as DISASM, OS/8 EDIT PLUS, OS/8 FORMAT, an OS/8 directory editing program, development tools like PS/8 LISP 1.5, MAC8 8K MACRO, and applications such as an automated interview program and an OS/8 version of Conway's Game of Life.