From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid   
      
   On 12/7/2025 2:51 PM, John Robertson wrote:   
   >>> Did anyone ever make an emulator for the MM78 CPU family?   
   >>   
   >> I know you don't want to hear it, but it is likely a trivial job; the   
   >> toughest part would be "downgrading" your understanding of how   
   >> processors work.  Back then, they were more like "collections of   
   >> subcircuits" and the code patched together their interactions   
   >> instead of baking in particular relationships.  The manufacturer   
   >> likely made a simulator to encourage adoption ("Development Systems"   
   >> were super rare and super pricey so it was easier to run a simulation   
   >> of your code on a minicomputer).   
   >>   
   >> But, it would likely have been made available on DECtape or possibly   
   >> as FORTRAN (being the "big" language of that day) sources.   
   >>   
   >> Here are two documents that popped up in a search of my archive.   
   >> Unfortunately, my index is in disrepair as I have been migrating   
   >> most of the archive onto larger spindles and different machines   
   >> (easier to rebuild it as a batch job once it is in its new form).   
   >>   
   >>    
   >   
   > That one I had found, it has a compilation of some PPS-4 and PPS4-2 stuff.   
      
   OK   
      
   >>    
   >   
   > That document is part number 11660N40 Rv2, Sept 1975. I have a better first   
   > page and your copy is cleaner inside. I've combined them and left them in my   
   > ftp archive so you can download it if you wish. There may be others of use   
   too.   
      
   I've learned to become less "discriminating" in my collections.  As long as   
   I can *read* the content, it's good enough for me (given that the   
   alternative was *paper*!).  I've been going through my dead tree collection   
   with a buzzsaw trying to whittle it down (no pun intended) to something   
   manageable.   
      
   I've already scanned and discarded probably 40 cases of books/papers and   
   there doesn't seem to be an end in sight!    When I find the SoB   
   who collected all of this stuff, I'll have some choice words for him!!   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)