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In this repository I aim to collect various software updates, informationand software for the RSTS/E Operating System for the PDP-11.

Most of these are for RSTS/E V10.1 which I run under emulationusing SIMH PDP11 on my PiDP11 front panel.

Recently some source-kits became available on the bitsavers web sitefor RSTS/E V10.1 and I started investigations into fixing some Y2K issuesthat I had found while tinkering.

I've also zipped up a complete set of the RSTS/E V10.1 documentation.It's a very large file (1.68Gb) of PDF files and can be downloadedfrom my Google Drive at

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-cZsyJmAzsTWDDu5iPlD_o9_rYwahaGs/view?usp=sharing

The first of these concerned transferring files from an RT-11 diskimage onto RSTS/E where the file dates should have been preserved bythe FIT program. They were instead wrapping to an earlier date.

Part of the RT-11 Y2K updates to RT-11 V5.7 includedusing additional bits in the RT-11 date word to store dates beyond2003. I've included the SPDherefor reference (see Appendix E).

I've patched the source-code for FIT to fix this.

You'll find a context diff for the source-code changes in thecusp-updates/fitsubdirectory, along with the command file I used to buildthisupdated task image for RSTS/E V10.1. Just rename the original one inthe AUXLIB$ (or SY:[0,14]) directory and copy the update (with <232>mode protection and RSX run-time system) in place.

Paul Koning has some additional updates for DECnet/E for theEvent Logger (EVTLOG.TSK) and for Async DDCMP support over a serialline.

[Update 25-Aug-2020] There's also a replacement NCP program to fixthe "SHOW NODE" command.

[Update 11-Nov-2021] The DECnet/E event logger (EVTLOG.TSK) has beenupdated again. "There were two errors triggered by the fact that, asof 10-Nov-2021 the Julian-half-day value has the top bit set, making itlook negative to PDP-11s. One was in the conversion from RSTS internalformat to Julian-half-day, triggering an%integer error message.The other was in decoding such Julian-half-day values when displayingevents -- doing an ASR to convert half days to whole days is not agood idea..."

[Update 05-Jan-2022] A shutdown patch has been added to Paul Koning'srepository in patches/shut.cmd. This resolves a problem in RSTS V10.1that seems to come and go with no clear pattern. The failure is a crash,sometimes a halt, during system shutdown. The cause was a write to thewrong location when removing the DCL runtime system, because of aregister not being set before that action.

This shutdown patch can be installed with ONLPAT; it takes effectimmediately (because it patches a non-resident overlay).

You'll find Paul's patches on his GitHub repository at

https://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff

In addition, I have included one of his patches to improve Ethernetthroughput with RSTS/E V10.1 under SIMH PDP11 emulation.

You'll find this in the decnete subdirectory and a patch scriptnsp1.patthat you can apply with ONLPAT to the monitor SIL. Thensp1.txtfile has the details.

Not related to updates - but may be useful/informative and nostalgic!

I posted to the USENET newsgroup alt.sys.pdp11 recently describinghow to install PDP-11 DIBOL V6.1-F from the PATCH$ directory. Afull install kit exists on the system if you include patches wheninstalling RSTS/E V10.1 - and you don't need original media to get itworking. The details arehere.

I remember seeing a TK50 tape of further Y2K updates that wasreleased by Mentec in around the 1999 timeframe. Sadly, I don't have acopy of this - but I have managed to track down the followingCover Letterfor this tape. If anyone has a tape-image copy of this pleaselet me know. It has EDT updates as well as date changes to theRT11.RTS and system utilities PIP.SAV, LINK.SAV, LIBR.SAV and SYSMAC.SML

I've previously posted to various mailing lists concerning some softwarethat enhances your nostaligia for RSTS/E. I'm adding a few disk images and aDECtape image to the software folder for the following -

This is on an RL02 disk image in RSTS Level 1.2 format (labelKER363) that I used to re-create various versions of Kermit-11 (forRSTS/E, RSX-11M-Plus, P/OS and RT-11).Updates were downloaded from Johnny Billquist's HECnet node MIM:: andapplied to the most recent official kermit sources.You'll find the source files, batch build command filesand binaries in the account [11,6]

$ mount dl0: ker363$ dir dl0:[11,6]

A direct download link for the Kermit RL02 image isrl02-ker363.dsk

I've supplied two RL01 disk images,One in RSTS Level 1.2 format for RSTS/E V8.0 and later, and the other in theoriginal RSTS Level 0.0 format for use under RSTS V04 to V07). The diskfiles have been updated so the games can be played on recent versions ofBASIC-Plus. The files are in two accounts [100,100] and [100,101]. Alsoincluded on this disk is a copy of the original adventure game thatwas ported from a PDP-10 to run under PDP-11 Fortran by Kent Blackett andBob Supnik. You'll find this in the account [100,102].

$ mount dl0: games

Also I've included a DECtape image (inDOS-11 format). This is directly readable by a RSTS system that includesDECtape (DT device) device support.

The RL01 GAMES disk image isrl01-games.dskand the image for older versions of RSTS V04A to V07 isrl01-games-rsts0-0.dsk (an RL01) orrk05-games-rsts0-0.dsk (an RK05).An image of an original DECtape containing volume 1 of the games isahl_basic_games.dta.

This is my V2.5 (originally written by Johnny Billquistand Megan Gentry). This version includes the capability to run variousInfocom interactive adventure games (like ZORK1, ZORK2, ZORK3...) under RSTS/Eusing the RT11 run-time system. This disk is in RT-11 format and the filesneed to be copied using the FIT command into an empty account on thesystem disk. The ZEMU.DOC file describes how to install this software.

$ create/account sy:[11,10]/name="ZEMU 2.5"$ fit sy:[11,10]=dl0:*.*/rt

The RL02 disk image (in RT-11 format) isrl02-zemu25.dsk

Some may not realise this - but a port of FIG-Forth V2 as a run-time systemunder RSTS/E is available if you choose to install the Unsupported software.The porting to RSTS/E was done by Paul Koning and was used as an internalRSTS/E development tool. It runs on any version of RSTS/E from V7.2 orlater.

The public domain sourcecode for the Forth RTS in Macro-11 is alsoincluded in the UNSUPP$:FORTH.MAC file.

To enable the Forth RTS, add the following to your SY:[0,1]START.COM fileunder the section " Installing run-time systems and libraries" -

 install/runtime_system UNSUPP$:FORTH

This will add it to the system when you reboot (or alternatively youcan try it out using the following)

$ run $utlmgrUtlmgr> install/runtime_system UNSUPP$:FORTHUtlmgr> ^Z

Forth compiled programs have a .4TH file type or youcan interactively enter them by switching to the newly installed RTS.By convention, Forth source files have the .FTH file type.

For example - to multiply the integers 123 and 45 and print the result -

$ sw forthFIG-FORTH V2.0+123 45 * .5535  ok

To exit back to DCL use

ccl switch dcl$

Two Forth programs are included in the UNSUPP$: directory - ODT andSDA. ODT is the octal debugging tool and it handles large files; andSDA is an interactive crash dump analyser (inspired by the VMS toolof the same name). You can run like any other program -

$ run unsupp$:sdaSDA V10.1-0G for RSTS/E V10.1-0L        RSTS V10.1-L PDP11/70 SIMHSil <SY0:[0,1]SIMH70.SIL> ? [Using DU0:[0,1]SIMH70.SIL]Crash dump file <DU0:[0,1]CRASH .SYS> ? [Using DU0:[0,1]CRASH .SYS][Help is available]Sda> helpType 'HELP <name>' to get help for <name>Type 'HELP INTRODUCTION' for an introduction to SDAHELP is available for the following functions:        TAG->A  LB      LX      LS      L       DEFINE  TAB     E         USE     MODULE  M->A    %.      A.      AO.     U.R     U.         EXIT    FIND    .CCLS   .CCLDEF         .FCBLIST        .FILE         .WCB    .FCB    B       J->JCR  NARROW  2K@     .NODE   .NODEID         .TIME   .DATE   2%.     .POS    .       .R      CRASH   SIL        WIDE    C->A    K@      CA.     CO.     SPACES  O.      WO.         SHOW HELP is also available for:        DO      INTRODUCTION    FORTH   NUMBERS         SYMBOLS Sda> ^Z$

The source-code for SDA is in UNSUPP$:SDA.FTH for your perusal andenjoyment.

There's also a great deal of information about Forth on thewww.forth.org web site. The source-codealso has information about Forth's handling of program SCREENs andfiles.

In themicrossubdirectory, I've added a few of the microcomputer cross-assemblersthat I developed whilst an undergraduate. These were originallywritten in BASIC-PLUS - and the source files have been convertedto a format now acceptable to both BASIC-PLUS and the PDP-11BASIC-PLUS-2 V2.7-00 compiler. (The original source files usedcontinuation lines of a LF CR NUL, with CR LF at theend of each statement).

Cross-assemblers for

• National Semiconductor SC/MPSCMPCA.B2S

• Intel 8080/8085 with some Zilog Z80 op-codes (using Intel/TDL-stylemnemonics)X80.B2S

• MOS Technology 6502X65.B2S

A dis-assembler for

• National Semiconductor SC/MPDISASM.B2S

and,

• A program to convert hexadecimal output from the cross-assemblerto an Intel HEX format absolute loader format fileINTEL.B2S

There are DCL command files to compile them, and I've included a binarytask-image for each.

Paul Koning has released two more updates for RSTS/E V10.1.

The first are patches to the Ethernet DEUNA and DEQNA drivers to fixuser I/O and allow unit numbers beyond the first. See the xedvr.cmd andxhdvr.cmd files in the patches directory athttps://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff

The second is a broadcast NTP client that will synchronize the system clockwith a Network Time Protocol server on the local Ethernet LAN (when it'sconfigured to send out broadcast packets on UDP port 123). It includeshandling of timezone rules so that the right thing will happen at daylightsavings time changeovers.

Seehttps://github.com/pkoning2/decstuff/tree/master/ntp for details.

I've been a User/Systems Programmer/System Manager/Computer NetworkingEngineer since my University days.

My first contact was with RSTS/E V04A-12 in 1975 on a PDP-11/20 witha Teletype model 33 console. In 1977 a PDP-11/45 was purchased alongwith RSX-11D for the Electrical Engineering department for researchpurposes. I managed to get access to this machine and was able to bookone or two hour exclusive sessions in the evenings. With things beinghow they were in those days, an RK05 copy "came into my hands" containingthe installation kit for RSTS/E V06B. I no longer have the RK05, but Ido have thisDECtapethat contains the sysgened monitor for V06Bthat one day I might be able to get at!

Not being overly enthusiastic about RSX-11D, I used my allotted timeto run RSTS/E and develop various cross-assemblers for 8085/Z80/6502microcomputers. It had a VT05 console (20 lines of 72 columns) so I coulddo this without wasting paper!

Also at this time, a campus-wide time-sharing system using a PDP-11/45was being deployed - at first with 16 terminals (LA30S) runningRSTS/E V06B. This was later updated to an PDP-11/70 with more memoryand a fleet of additional video terminals (mainly ADM3A but with a fewVT52s).

I'll add more here later...

Tony