VMS

In April, 1975, DIGITAL began a hardware project, code named Star, to design on a 32-bit virtual address extension to its PDP-11. In June, 1975, Dave together with Dick Hustvedt, and Peter Lipman were appointed the technical project leaders for the software project, code named Starlet, to develop a totally new operating system for the Star family of processors. These two projects were tightly integrated from the beginning. The three technical leaders of the Starlet project together with three technical leaders of the Star proje ...

See also:

Dave Cutler, Dave Cutler - Personal history, Dave Cutler - VMS, Dave Cutler - Prism and Mica projects, Dave Cutler - Windows NT, Dave Cutler - Quotation

Read more here: » Dave Cutler: Encyclopedia II - Dave Cutler - VMS

VMS is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: Virtual Memory System (another name for OpenVMS), an operating system Variable message sign, an electronic traffic sign often used on highways Visual Memory System (better known as Visual Memory Unit), a storage device for the Sega Dreamcast console Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide deposits The Voynich manuscript, a mysterious illustrated book of unknown contents, written some 600 years ago by an anonymous author

Read more here: » VMS: Encyclopedia - VMS

A window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer processes. Windows are primarily associated with graphical displays, where they can be manipulated with a pointer. However, many programs with text user interfaces, for example Emacs, allow their display to be divided into areas whic ...

Including:

• Window computing - Types of windows

Read more here: » Window computing: Encyclopedia - Window computing

Vermilion, also spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occuring, is an opaque reddish orange pigment, used since antiquity, originally derived from the powdered mineral cinnabar. Chemically the pigment is mercuric sulfide, HgS. Like all mercury compounds it is toxic. Today vermilion is most commonly produced artificially by reacting mercury with molten sulphur, in which case it may also be known as vermilion substitute. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, giving r ...

Including:

• Vermilion - History
• Vermilion - China red

Read more here: » Vermilion: Encyclopedia - Vermilion

VAX is a 32-bit computing architecture that supports an orthogonal instruction set (machine language) and virtual addressing (i.e. demand paged virtual memory). It was developed in the mid-1970s by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). DEC was later purchased by Compaq, which in turn was purchased by Hewlett-Packard. The VAX has been perceived as the quintessential CISC processing architecture, with its very large number of addressing modes and machine instructions, including instructions for such complex operations as queue ins ...

Including:

• VAX - The name
• VAX - Operating systems
• VAX - History
• VAX - VAX models

Read more here: » VAX: Encyclopedia - VAX

DECnet is a proprietary suite of network protocols created by Digital Equipment Corporation, originally released in 1975 in order to connect two PDP-11 minicomputers. It evolved into one of the first peer-to-peer network architectures, thus making DEC into a networking powerhouse in the 1980s. Initially built with four layers, it later (1992) evolved into a seven layer OSI compliant networking protocol, around the time when open systems (POSIX compliant, i.e. UNIX-like) were grabbing marketshare from th ...

Including:

• DECnet - Brief Overview of the Evolution of DECnet

Read more here: » DECnet: Encyclopedia - DECnet

BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known systems programming language right up until C made its debut a few years later. Since then, C took off and BLISS faded into obscurity. (When C was in its infancy, a few projects within Bell Labs were debating the merits of BLISS vs. C.) BLISS is a typeless block-structured language based on expressions rather than statements, and includes constructs for exception handling, coroutines, and m ...

Including:

• BLISS - Versions
• BLISS - Downloads

Read more here: » BLISS: Encyclopedia - BLISS

The DEC Alpha, also known as the Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit RISC microprocessor originally developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), which used it in its own line of workstations and servers. Designed as a successor to the VAX line of computers, it supported the VMS operating system, as well as Digital UNIX. Later open source operating systems also ran on the Alpha, notably Linux and BSD UNIX flavours. Microsoft supported the processor until Windows NT 4.0 SP6 but did not extend Alpha support beyond release candida ...

Including:

• DEC Alpha - History
• DEC Alpha - Versions
• DEC Alpha - Model history

Read more here: » DEC Alpha: Encyclopedia - DEC Alpha

Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. The architecture complemented versions of Windows that were based on MS-DOS until 2001. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are the latest versions of Windows NT, though they are not branded as such for marketing purposes. Windows NT - Development. When development started in November 1988, Windows NT (using protected mode) was to be known as OS/2 3.0, the third version of the operating sy ...

Including:

• Windows NT - Development
• Windows NT - Releases
• Windows NT - Supported platforms
• Windows NT - NT designation
• Windows NT - Notes

Read more here: » Windows NT: Encyclopedia - Windows NT

Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T Bell Labs employees including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. Today's Unix systems are split into various branches, developed over time by AT&T, several other commercial vendors, as well as several non-profit organizations. Unix was designed to be portable, multi-tasking and multi-user. The Unix systems are characterized by various concepts: plain text files, command line interpreter, hier ...

Including:

• Unix - History
• Unix - 1960s and 1970s
• Unix - 1980s
• Unix - 1990s
• Unix - 2000s
• Unix - Standards
• Unix - List of Unixes
• Unix - Research Unix
• Unix - AT&T UNIX Systems & descendants
• Unix - Free Unix-like operating systems
• Unix - Impact
• Unix - Branding
• Unix - Canonical Unix Commands
• Unix - Sources

Read more here: » Unix: Encyclopedia - Unix

Virtual memory or virtual memory addressing is a memory management technique, used by multitasking computer operating systems wherein non-contiguous memory is presented to a software application (aka process) as contiguous memory. The contiguous memory is referred to as the virtual address space. Virtual memory addressing is typically used in paged memory systems. This in turn is often combined with memory swapping, whereby memory pages stored in primary storage are written to secondary storage, thus freei ...

Including:

• Virtual memory - Background
• Virtual memory - Segmentation
• Virtual memory - Basic operation
• Virtual memory - Details
• Virtual memory - Paging and virtual memory
• Virtual memory - Additional details
• Virtual memory - History
• Virtual memory - Windows example
• Virtual memory - Misconceptions about the Windows page file
• Virtual memory - Virtual Memory in Linux

Read more here: » Virtual memory: Encyclopedia - Virtual memory

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD, sometimes called Berkeley Unix) is the Unix derivative distributed by the University of California, Berkeley starting in the 1970s. The name is also used collectively for the modern descendants of these distributions. BSD was widely identified with the versions of Unix available for workstation-class systems. This can be attributed to the ease with which it could be licensed and the familiarity it found among the founders of many technology companies during the 1980s. This fami ...

Including:

• Berkeley Software Distribution - History
• Berkeley Software Distribution - PDP-11 beginnings
• Berkeley Software Distribution - VAX versions
• Berkeley Software Distribution - 4.3BSD
• Berkeley Software Distribution - Net/2 and legal troubles
• Berkeley Software Distribution - 4.4BSD and descendants
• Berkeley Software Distribution - Technology
• Berkeley Software Distribution - Open source BSD derivatives
• Berkeley Software Distribution - Structure
• Berkeley Software Distribution - BSD descendants

Read more here: » Berkeley Software Distribution: Encyclopedia - Berkeley Software Distribution

EVE stands for Extensible VAX Editor, a flexible text editor that is part of the VMS operating system. EVE(TM) stands for the Evolving Virtual Enterprise, an adaptive Web Portal System that uses the XIERE (TM) or X-tier Intelligent Engine for Real-time Environments. ...

Read more here: » EVE: Encyclopedia - EVE

On a computer, arbitrary-precision arithmetic, also called bignum arithmetic, is a technique that allows computer programs to perform calculations on integers and rational numbers with an arbitrary number of digits of precision, limited only by the available memory of the host system. It typically works by storing a number as a variable-length array of digits in some base, in contrast to most computer arithmetic which uses a fixed number of bits given by the size of the processor registers. Rational numbers can be stored as a p ...

Including:

• Arbitrary-precision arithmetic - Applications
• Arbitrary-precision arithmetic - Algorithms
• Arbitrary-precision arithmetic - Arbitrary-precision software

Read more here: » Arbitrary-precision arithmetic: Encyclopedia - Arbitrary-precision arithmetic

The first games we might today call MUDs appeared in 1977 on the PLATO system. In Europe at around the same time, MUD development was centered around academic networks, particularly at the University of Essex where they were played by many people, both internal and external to the University. In this context, it has been said that MUD stands for "Multi-Undergrad Destroyer" due to their popularity among college students and the amount of time devoted to the MUD by the student. The popularity of MUDs of the Essex University tradition escalated ...

See also:

MUD, MUD - History, MUD - Variations on MUDs, MUD - Graphical MUDs, MUD - Talkers and spods, MUD - RPIMUDs, MUD - Complex Combat MUDs

Read more here: » MUD: Encyclopedia II - MUD - History

The code base for Microsoft SQL Server (prior to version 7.0) originated in Sybase SQL Server, and was Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, and Sybase. Microsoft, Sybase and Ashton-Tate teamed up to create and market the first version named SQL Server 4.2 for OS/2 (about 1989) which was essentially the same as Sybase SQL Server 4.0 on Unix, VMS, etc. Microsoft SQL Server for NT v4.2 was shipped around 1992 (available bundled with Microsoft OS/2 version 1.3) and was a simple port from OS/2 to NT. Microsoft SQL Server v6.0 was the first version of SQL Server that was architected for N ...

See also:

Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server - History, Microsoft SQL Server - Versions for Windows, Microsoft SQL Server - Description, Microsoft SQL Server - Variants, Microsoft SQL Server - Sub Products

Read more here: » Microsoft SQL Server: Encyclopedia II - Microsoft SQL Server - History

Minicomputer - 1960s: Origin; 1970s: Market entrenchment. The term "minicomputer" evolved in the 1960s to describe the "small" third generation computers that became possible with the use of transistor and core memory technologies. They usually took up one or a few cabinets, compared with mainframes that would usually fill a room. The first successful minicomputer was Digital Equipment Corporation's 12-bit PDP-8, which cost from ...

See also:

Minicomputer, Minicomputer - History, Minicomputer - 1960s: Origin; 1970s: Market entrenchment, Minicomputer - Mid-1980s 1990s: The minis give way to the micros, Minicomputer - The minicomputer's industrial impact and heritage, Minicomputer - List of some notable minicomputers

Read more here: » Minicomputer: Encyclopedia II - Minicomputer - History

The first VAX model sold was the VAX-11/780, which became available in 1978. The architect of this model was Bill Strecker. Many different models with different prices, performance levels, and capacities were subsequently created. VAX superminis were very popular in the early 1980s. In 2001 there were still VAX computers doing useful work, and Compaq was reportedly manufacturing and selling a tiny number of new ones. By 2005 all manufacturing of VAX computers had ceased, but old syst ...

See also:

VAX, VAX - The name, VAX - Operating systems, VAX - History, VAX - VAX models

Read more here: » VAX: Encyclopedia II - VAX - History

When development started in November 1988, Windows NT (using protected mode) was to be known as OS/2 3.0, the third version of the operating system developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM. In addition to working on three versions of OS/2, Microsoft continued parallel development of the DOS-based and less resource-demanding Windows environment (using real mode). When Windows 3.0 was released in May 1990, it was so successful that Microsoft decided to change the primary application programming interface for the still-unreleased NT OS/2 (as it w ...

See also:

Windows NT, Windows NT - Development, Windows NT - Releases, Windows NT - Supported platforms, Windows NT - NT designation, Windows NT - Notes

Read more here: » Windows NT: Encyclopedia II - Windows NT - Development

Vermilion is one of the oldest pigments used by human beings. There is evidence of its use in China since prehistory. It was known to the Romans; Pliny the Elder records that it became so expensive that the price had to be fixed by the Roman government. The pigment was used throughout Europe from the 12th century, mostly for illuminated manuscripts, although its use didn't become widespread until the 15th century when the artificially produced alte ...

See also:

Vermilion, Vermilion - History, Vermilion - China red

Read more here: » Vermilion: Encyclopedia II - Vermilion - History