Kermit-12 for the PDP-8, PDP-12, and DECmate


PDP-8, PDP-12, and DECmate handbook covers from the Kermit Library and the Robert Krten collection.

Digital Equipment Corporation's 12-bit microcomputers and word processors include the PDP-8 (the first minicomputer, introduced in 1965), the PDP-12 laboratory computer, and the DECmate I, II, and III, WT-78, VT-78, and VT-278 word processors.

A Kermit program, Kermit-12, was written for these machines in PAL-8 assembly language in 1984-1992 by Jerry Sands, Randy Hippe, Martyn Hemmings, Sepp Stadelmann, Richard Schlerf, and Charles Lasner. It runs under OS/8, OS/78, OS/278, and OS/12. It is designed primarily to make serial-port connections at whatever baud rates are legal on the particular machine (up to 19200 bps and in some cases maybe higher) and conduct online terminal sessions and transfer files with the remote computer. You can find the source code and documentation files at the Kermit FTP site in the following directory:

ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/d/

The files are the ones whose names start with "k12"; download them in text ("ascii") mode.

You can also get the Kermit-12 files as Tar or Zip archives (download them in binary mode):

Format Size Link
Unix Tar 706560 ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/archives/k12.tar
Compressed Tar 327199 ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/archives/k12.tar.Z
Gzipped Tar 236999 ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/archives/k12.tar.gz
Zip (unzip -a) 242047 ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/archives/k12.zip

The filetypes are as follows:

File Type Description
.ann Announcements (plain ASCII text).
.boo ASCII-encoded binary encoding to be decoded by k12deb.sv
.bwr "Beware" file (hints and tips).
.doc Plain-text ASCII documentation.
.dsk Description of files (plain text).
.enc ASCII-encoded 12-bit binary encoding to be decoded by k12dec.sv
.ipl Initial program ("bootstrap") loader.
.lst Load map.
.not Notes.
.odt Octal Debugging Technique (bootstrapping).
.pal PAL-8 assembly language source code.
.upd Update notes.

Also see (offsite):

Related (onsite):

Links (offsite):

[ Kermit Project Home ]


Kermit-12 / Columbia University / kermit@columbia.edu / 4 March 2003