BOOT11

This document describes BOOT11, a bootstrap program designed to facilitate the loading and dumping of programs between a DECsystem-10 and a PDP-11 via a DL10 Data Link. Its primary functions are to load PDP-11 memory from a DECsystem-10 disk file or paper tape, and to dump PDP-11 memory to a DECsystem-10 disk file.

BOOT11 operates in user mode under the DECsystem-10 TOPS-10 system, requiring specific user privileges (TRPSET and LOCK) and a minimum of 2K memory. It interacts directly with the DL10 hardware to control the PDP-11's halt, start, load, clear, and dump operations. Users interact with BOOT11 by typing R BOOT11, then providing a file descriptor along with various command switches such as /LOAD, /START, /DUMP, /CLEAR, /PORTNO, /IMAGE, and /HELP.

The program exclusively reads PDP-11 formatted (absolute) binary files, which can be produced by various assemblers and linkers like MACRO-11, MACDLX, MACY11, LINK, and LNKX11. These binary files can be in "packed" or "unpacked" format, with the /IMAGE switch used to specify the "unpacked" format. The document also details progress messages, warnings, and comprehensive error messages categorized by command string errors, formatted binary file input errors, dump file output errors, and miscellaneous failures, including issues related to privileges, hardware, and software configuration.