DIGITAL DIGITAL Computing Timeline
1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957
<1978>

February:
V1.0 of the VMS operating system ships.

VMS (Virtual Memory System) was developed in parallel with the VAX, allowing complete integration of hardware and software. The overall aim during development was to achieve compatibility between systems so that information and programs could be shared. V1.0 featured FORTRAN IV and DECnet, a 64 megabyte memory limit, an event driven priority scheduler, process swapper, process deletion/creation/control, I/O post processing and AST delivery. At left is the team that delivered V 1.0.

March:
DIGITAL ships the first DECsystem-2020.

The DECsystem-2020 was introduced as "the world's lowest cost mainframe computer system." It was DIGITAL's least expensive and last 36-bit computer system. The system's low cost was made possible by a state-of-the-art packaging technology that allowed the entire system to fit in a single cabinet measuring five feet high by two feet wide by three feet deep. At left is the DECsystem-2020 development team.

August:
The VT100 terminal is introduced.

The VT100 was DIGITAL's first ANSI-compliant video terminal. It became the industry's best selling terminal and the de facto market standard.

September:
Gordon Bell, Craig Mudge and John McNamara publish Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design.

In Computer Engineering: A DEC View of Hardware Systems Design, Bell and his co-authors provide a case study of computer design at DIGITAL within the context of prevailing goals and constraints. For the first time, the computer industry was examined from an evolutionary perspective.

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