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Questions tagged [documentation]

Use this tag for questions regarding documentation on historical computers.

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2 votes
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Is there a disassembly of the Amiga's dos.library available?

I've become interested in how the Amiga's LoadSeg() function from dos.library works. So I'm looking for commented disassemblies of any version of the dos.library from an Amiga ROM or Kickstart etc. I ...
hippietrail's user avatar
  • 7,874
6 votes
0 answers
167 views

Has any information survived about OS BAMOS for BESM-6, written in DDR?

Recently I learned that there was an operating system for the BESM-6 mainframe developed in DDR: a bibliographical list includes and quite a few more German-language publications (up to item 105), ...
Leo B.'s user avatar
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5 votes
0 answers
141 views

What documentation was provided with the Amiga 1020 disk drive?

The Amiga 1020 was a 5.25" disk drive for use with the Amiga computer. Anecdotally, I suspect they are somewhat rarer these days because they were a less popular choice for a second drive back ...
Geo...'s user avatar
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21 votes
10 answers
7k views

When did computer manuals and books start using monospace fonts for code, and why?

At least through the early 1980s, the source code in non typewritten computer manuals and books was usually typeset using proportional fonts, sometimes with syntax highlighting such as keywords in ...
Paolo Amoroso's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
337 views

Documentation for the SALUT preprocessor of the IBM Macro Assembler 2.0

The IBM Macro Assembler 2.0 included the SALUT program, which was a preprocessor for assembly language for structured programming. It was also included in the IBM Macro Assembler/2. I am looking for ...
Marc Nieper-Wißkirchen's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

Documentation for an old computer: ICL 4120

This is a follow on to my first question in this site: Help identifying a very old computer: 1974, maybe an NCR This established that the first computer that I used was an ICL 4120. Now that I know ...
badjohn's user avatar
  • 2,173
6 votes
0 answers
747 views

Transistor-level schematic of 65C02

I am looking for a transistor-level schematic for the 65C02, something like the one for the 6502 created by davidmjc (https://github.com/davidmjc/6502). I am a teacher planning to give a student ...
JRN's user avatar
  • 1,265
14 votes
1 answer
527 views

Source For V2/A4 Missile Analog Guidance Computer Schematic?

As a retro computing hobby project, I'm researching Helmut Hoeltzer's (Hölzer's) work on the Mischgerät analog guidance computer for the V2/A4 ballistic missile, with the goal of validating a ...
cmholm's user avatar
  • 351
0 votes
1 answer
656 views

Sony 9-Pin Protocol ("P2", RS-422) Help [closed]

I posted this in video production as well, but it's really more of an obscure serial thing: I have a modern SSD video recorder deck that inexplicably can only be remote controlled by RS-422 (Atomos ...
Adam's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
369 views

Where can I find a copy of the HiSoft C compiler manual for ZX Spectrum?

I've been able to find the manual for the CPC version of HiSoft C, but not for the ZX. The only ones I could find appeared to have been OCRed, so virtually all of the necessary information was lost. ...
forest's user avatar
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25 votes
13 answers
7k views

Did computers come with circuit diagrams?

If you purchased a computer, back when they were actually made from discrete components, would you expect to get a circuit diagram as part of the documentation? Was that something you could purchase ...
MathematicalOrchid's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
218 views

What do the DIP switches in a Perkin-Elmer 550 terminal do?

I have here a Perkin-Elmer “Bantam” 550 serial terminal. This terminal has a flap above the keyboard below which you can find a Baud rate selection slider, a switch for “transparent mode” (whatever ...
fuz's user avatar
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14 votes
1 answer
532 views

What is the "Data Language" paper referenced in RFC 309?

RFC 309 is an announcement of the 1972 Data and File Transfer Workshop announcement. The suggested reading section has 12 entries, 11 of which are RFCs and the last of which is: 8. Data ...
wizzwizz4's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
3k views

What are the electrical characteristics of a PC gameport?

I'm considering building some custom gizmos to connect to the gameport on my retro-hobby PC (SNES controller adapter, macro/turbo box, etc.) but I haven't been able to find much information on details ...
ssokolow's user avatar
  • 7,471
51 votes
4 answers
7k views

What should we do with manuals from the 80s?

I have access to several meters of manuals of various sorts around CP/M on PCs and various bits on mainframes. These are earmarked to go after decades of "cannot dump that" heartbleed. Most are ...
smoe's user avatar
  • 641
5 votes
2 answers
534 views

Xerox 3700 Documentation?

Cannot find any documentation on this computer, need some help identifying it. I am pretty sure this is some kind of print server and the date on the parts is 1989.
yanagibashi's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
951 views

Where can I find macrofun.hlp?

In the days before Visual Basic for Applications, the macro language for Microsoft Excel was called XLL. The syntax was similar to that of ordinary Excel formulas, except for two things: Macros were ...
wizzwizz4's user avatar
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48 votes
8 answers
9k views

What was the first programming book

I'm curious, what was the first book, about programming for digital computers. I tried to google it, but it led me to multiple results. I'm mostly interested in the language it was about and the ...
Bálint's user avatar
  • 1,103