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

This newsletter (Number 10, April 1974) provides updates on various software developments for DEC's PDP-8 family. Key highlights include the upcoming release of OS/8 Version 3 in May, which will feature many new capabilities and a new manual. A significant new software product, SRT-8 (Small Real Time System), is introduced, offering a framework for real-time applications with features like task scheduling and memory management; it will be renamed RTS-8.

Discussions are underway for a new DECsystem-8 version that will be compatible with OS/8 V3 while retaining DS/8's unique features. Design work has begun for a much-needed relocatable MACRO assembler for the PDP-8 family, and user input is encouraged. The document also introduces Dr. Roger Abbott's ROGALGOL (an ALGOL-60 system for PDP-8) and Clyde Roby's efficient OS/8 sort program.

Other topics cover the potential for a multi-user OS/8 system being developed by EDUCOMP and a request for ideas to improve TD8e DECtape drivers for better interrupt handling in real-time applications. A list of new DECUS programs is provided, including handlers for VTØ5 terminals, statistical packages, non-linear least square methods, and utilities (XPIP8, XPIP10, PIP11) for accessing various DECtape formats across PDP-8, PDP-10, and PDP-11 systems. An editor's note also draws attention to an upcoming presentation on evaluating business data processing software for PDP-8s.