1971- Absolute Loader on Paper Tape for DEC PDP-11 **

Object/Artifact

-

VintageComputer.Gallery

Name/Title

1971- "Absolute Loader" on Paper Tape for DEC PDP-11 **

Description

The "Absolute Loader" was a piece of vintage software used with the DEC PDP-11 series of minicomputers. It was designed to load other software programs from punched paper tape, which was a common data storage medium before the advent of modern digital storage. The Absolute Loader worked by reading a special tape image that contained the necessary instructions to load other tapes using the "Absolute Format." This format organized data into blocks, each beginning with a header and followed by data bytes. The loader would then execute the program at a specific address in memory.

Acquisition

Acquisition Method

EBay

Date

Jan 6, 2025