Talk:TOPS-10
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[edit] Requested move
The system was far better known as DECsystem-10 than by the TOPS-10 name. The only people who used the TOPS-10 name were sysadmins (we called them system programmers back then) and some others who were actively involved with the product. Most users and other people who were familiar with it called it DECsystem-10 or by shorthand, DEC-10. --rogerd 21:18, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
Disagree. It's not that important, but when I was using the system as a student at CalTech, the OS was known as TOPS-10. — Arthur Rubin | (talk) 14:02, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
It would be helpful to have "DEC-10" at least forward to "DECsystem-10", since that was a common term for the system. I'd say it would be beneficial to keep both "TOPS-10" (refering to the operating system) and "DECsystem-10" (the hardware or overall system).
Also, this dude's page has lots of links for the DEC-10:
Joe Smith's PDP-10 page User: Anonymous 16 December 2006
[edit] Nomenclature
My twopence-worth: the PDP10 CPU itself was a KA10, KI10, KL10 or KS10 (in chronological order). The hardware system collectively was a DECsystem-10 (often colloquially shortened to DEC-10 or even '-10). The DEC-supplied operating system collectively with the system software (the software environment, I suppose one could call it) was TOPS-10; however, the *actual* OS kernel itself was called Monitor, which reached version 7.04 by the end of the product development line.
Other operating systems were developed for and ran on the DEC-10; BBN's Tenex and MIT's ITS, for example, though Tenex required the addition of non-DEC paging hardware if I remember correctly, at least at first. Kay Dekker 16:45, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Comment on Nomenclature
Hello all, I hope I'm not stepping on too many toes with my additions! I am about a half-serious hobbyists with TOPS-10, and wanted to provide enough info to get other people curious and started.
Once you've laid out the TOPS-10 manuals in chronological order, it becomes pretty apparent from the titles: DECsystem-10 was the name stressed in the 1970's, and TOPS-10 was more stressed by the late 1980's. I believe that was to distingush TOPS-10 from TOPS-20 and the other operating systems for the PDP-10.
Please help by commenting on my style, format, and content. TOPS-10 still lives, and I hope Wiki can provide initial information for new users.
User:cbmira01
[edit] Another note on nomenclature
An "operating system" implemented on a "particular CPU" is called a "platform". A "platform" is an important distinction from the point of view of implemented software: what services does the hardware provide, and how does the OS help me request those services?
So in that light, "PDP-10" is the CPU name (implemented as types KA, KI, KL, KS), "TOPS-10" is the operating system name (distinct from other OSes implemented on that CPU), and "DECsystem-1090" or "DECsystem-2020" and whatnot are the proper "platform names". A "DECsystem-2020" is TOPS-10 implemented on a KS-10 CPU, a "DECsystem-1090" is TOPS-10 on a KL-10 CPU, and so on.
There are a large number of TOPS-10 manuals at Bitsavers.org. Is it OK to reference them in the article?
I hope I'm not making you nuts with this discussion..
Cbmira01 02:45, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Case distinctions to observe...
I know it may seem incredibly nitpicky, but the correct capitalisations are DECsystem-10 and DECSYSTEM-20. See DECSYSTEM-20 for the little nugget of history :) Kay Dekker 23:36, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Historical Importance
It's too bad that this important operating system doesn't have a better article. DEC's operating systems formed the basis for concepts like CP/M, DOS, and even UNIX. The commercial minicomputer OS's were much simpler than mainframe systems like IBM's OS/360, and they were generally the center of most university student timesharing cultures in the 1970s. DonPMitchell (talk) 17:46, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
