View source for XXDP diagnostic package

'''XXDP''' refers both to instances of the collection of [[diagnostic]]s produced by [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] for the [[PDP-11]], and, more usually, the minimalist system later provided to load and run them. (The diagnostics themselves were actually developed under another [[operating system|OS]], such as [[RSX-11]]; XXDP was only used to run them.)

PDP-11 diagnostics were originally distributed on [[paper tape]]; later, groups of them were amalgamated onto [[mass storage]] media such as [[RK05 disk drive|RK05]] and [[RL01/02 disk drive|RL0x]] [[disk pack]]s. These were given names such as "RKDP" ('RK Diagnostic Package'); typically, a particular system was delivered with an RKDP pack (say) which contained all the diagnostics appropriate to that particular machine. A simple monitor was created to allow the machine to be [[bootstrap|booted]] directly from that pack, and also to make it easy to run them; 'XXDP' was the obvious generalization which was not specific to any particular media. An XXDP pack would contain diagnostics for all the PDP-11 [[peripheral]]s and options; this could easily be mass produced, as PDP-11 production increased.

==External links==

* [http://www.dmv.net/dec/pdf/xxdpum.pdf XXDP User's Manual] (AA-FK83A-TC)
* [https://skn.noip.me/pdp11/resources/XXDP.pdf Notes for  XXDP+ and XXDP V2 Operating Systems]
* [https://github.com/rust11/xxdp XXDP PDP-11 diagnostic operating system sources and documents]
** [https://github.com/rust11/xxdp/tree/main Github tree]
* [http://retrocmp.com/how-tos/using-pdp-11-diagnostics/227-pdp-11-diagnostics-running-them PDP-11 diagnostics]

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[[Category: PDP-11 Operating Systems]]
[[Category: DEC Operating Systems]]