DECUS 12 BIT SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWSLETTER Number 27 - March 1978

This March 1978 DECUS 12 Bit SIG Newsletter provides updates on the upcoming Spring Symposium, detailing sessions on new BASIC, MACREL, TECO, PDP-8 product discussions, and workshops on DECstation-78, OS/8, and RTS/8. It also highlights presentations on real-time systems, micro-8 applications, and interprocessor buffers.

Key software news includes discussions on streamlining the DECUS Program Library by archiving older PDP-8 content and proposing microfiche for historical data. Several program revisions and new submissions are listed, covering OS/8 directory sorting (ALPHA), scientific subroutines (SSP), TECO overlays, SNOBOL-8.2, and various hardware handlers (Magtape, RK8ESTORE, LINCtape). A detailed tutorial on writing two-page OS/8 system handlers is provided, along with patches for FUTIL and DTFRMT addressing bugs and date handling issues.

On the hardware front, the newsletter introduces the QDP78, a DECstation-78 based system with specialized business software (QBOL, SORT/8). The Micro-8 Working Group discusses new 2K/4K CMOS RAMs and plans for future ROM components. A hypothetical "PDP-8 FOR 1988" outlines a vision for a multi-processor, multi-tasking VAX-8/880 system. An application note details interfacing HM6504/HM6503 memories to the HM6100 microprocessor. A "Hints and Kinks" section offers practical solutions for various hardware problems, including CPU, RF08, and I/O interfaces, alongside discussions on MNOS EAROMs and a 20mA current adaptor.

User contributions include a guide for using FORTRAN II with PAL8 and interrupts, a shift from FORTRAN IV to U/W FOCAL for better integration, and patches for V3D PIP and a revised DIRECT utility. There's also a workaround for the ineffective RANDOMIZE command in EDUCOMP BASIC. The European SIG provides an update on MACREL support module development and announces the Copenhagen Symposium. Feedback on the proposal to distribute the newsletter via microfiche indicates a strong preference for paper copies among many users.