DECUS OS/8 SIG NEWSLETTER

This July 1975 issue of the DECUS OS/8 SIG Newsletter covers various activities, developments, and user contributions related to PDP-8 and PDP-12 systems, with a noticeable trend towards expanding beyond strict OS/8 focus to the broader "Traditional 8-Family."

Key highlights include:

• Spring Symposium Review: Discussions on time-sharing, multi-user/foreground/background applications, the BLIP intermediate language, and OS/8 FORTRAN IV. A COS-310 system demonstrated a small, fast network between two PDP-8s running RTS8.
• SIG Growth & Scope: The OS/8 SIG has grown to over 1100 members. A Traditional 8-Family SIG has formed as a subset of the OS/8 group, coordinated by N. S. Kendrick Jr., aiming to support older PDP-8 products and hardware modifications.
• User-Driven Development: Due to stalled DEC-sponsored OS/8 development, users like Clyde Roby are proposing and implementing new OS/8 features, including enhanced RTS8 integration, expandable directories, and improved security. J. Floris Anthoni introduced MULTI-8, a real-time foreground/multi-user OS/8 background system with page-relocatable tasks.
• Customization & Tools: Lars Palmer detailed numerous customizations to CCL for FORTRAN IV users (e.g., default output devices, safer DELETE, DATE command, UPDATE/MOVE commands). He also submitted EXPIP, an advanced PIP utility, and is developing other FORTRAN IV routines.
• Scientific Software: Significant interest and progress in porting the Scientific Sub-Routine Package (SSP) from IBM systems to OS/8 FORTRAN IV (Dr. Arthur Stiennon, Dave Todd).
• System Patches & Bugs: Jim Crapuchettes contributed patches for the FORTRAN IV runtime system to control input errors and enable free-format input, along with FUTIL bug fixes. Reverend Chase offered CREF patch corrections and a FORTRAN II coding trick. Bill Kaufman provided an enhanced LIBS.RL.
• Software Problem Reports (SPRs): Several critical SPRs were submitted, highlighting issues with FORTRAN IV loader bugs (core size, statement functions, EXTERNAL variables), RALF restrictions, and OS/8 BATCH limitations on 32K systems.
• Technical Discussions: I. M. Templeton explained techniques for handling end-of-file conditions on block-oriented, non-file-structured devices.
• Community Needs: Calls for standardizing Foreground IOT codes to prevent conflicts and Dr. G. M. Hodgson's suggestions for improving DECUS Library program quality through reviews, update notifications, better documentation (flow diagrams, test cases), and dedicated support for new users.
• Newsletter Operations: A request for more frequent contributions to maintain the newsletter's publication schedule, adhering to guidelines for non-commercial, concise articles.