PDP-12

{{Short description |Historical scientific computer}}

{{Infobox information appliance

| name = PDP-12

| logo = PDP-12 wordmark.svg

| image = PDP-12-Update-Uppsala.jpeg

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| manufacturer = Digital Equipment Corporation

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| family = Programmed Data Processor

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| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1969}}

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| discontinued = {{End date and age|1972}}

| unitssold = 725

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| os = OS/8, DIALPS, LAP6W

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| memory = 4k 12-bit words; can be expanded to 32K

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| platform = DEC 12-bit

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| predecessor = PDP-8 and LINC

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File:PDP-12 front panel and screen.jpg

The PDP-12 (Programmed Data Processor) is a computer that was created by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1969 and marketed specifically for science and engineering.{{cite web|title=Exhibits - Living Computer Museum|url=http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/The-Collection/Exhibit-Hall.aspx|website=www.livingcomputermuseum.org|accessdate=5 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205125519/http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/The-Collection/Exhibit-Hall.aspx|archive-date=2016-02-05}}see Mini-Computer section and press see more, then press see more again{{cbignore}} It is the third in the LINC family and its main uses were for applications in chemistry, applied psychology, patient monitoring and industrial testing.{{cite web|last1=Digital Equipment Corporation|title=Nineteen Fifty-Seven to the Present|url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gbell/Digital/DEC%201957%20to%20Present%201978.pdf|accessdate=11 July 2016}} It is the combination of the LINC computer and the PDP-8 and can run programs for either computer.{{cite book|last1=ed|first1=Raúl Rojas|title=Encyclopedia of computers and computer history|date=2001|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=Chicago [u.a.]|isbn=1579582354|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco0000unse_a6j4}} It features a single central processor with two distinct operating modes, each with its own instruction set that allows it to run both computers' programs.{{cite book|title=PDP-12 Users Manual|date=1969|publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation|location=Maynard, Massachusetts}} A PDP-12 Basic System weighs about {{Convert|600|lb|kg|abbr=}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp12/maintenance/DEC-12-HR2B-D_PDP-12_Maintenance_Manual_Volume_2_Installation_and_Maintenance_Jun72.pdf|title=PDP-12 Maintenance Manual Volume 2 Installation and Maintenance|date=1972|website=www.bitsavers.org|pages=1-5 - 1-6, 1-9 (18-19, 22)|id=DEC-12-HR2B-D|access-date=2019-03-10|edition=3rd}}

Because it is the combination of two different computers, it is very versatile. It can be a laboratory-oriented machineLINC = Laboratory INstrumentation Computer with several facilities for I/O, auxiliary storage, and control and sensing for external equipment or a general purpose computer with a flexible I/O capability that can support multiple peripheral devices. The basic package came with dual LINCtape drives, a scope display and I/O ports for interfacing with external laboratory equipment and peripherals.{{cite web|title=The PDP-12|url=http://www.cca.org/tech/rcs/pdp12.html|website=www.cca.org}} In addition to a display-based OS other software packages were included for data acquisition and display, Fourier analysis and mass spectrometry.