• Transputer software today

    From Theo@21:1/5 to All on Fri May 8 15:35:25 2020
    Recent activity on this group has got me interested in Transputers - they
    seem like an interesting corner of doing (for their time) high performance compute. I keep being reminded of them as we have a Rohde and Schwartz
    vector network analyser that announces 'booting Transputers' as it powers up into some kind of DOS - I've never taken it apart, but did wonder if it ran some kind of DOS emulator on top of the Transputers...

    Anyway, I'm not really very familiar with what's out there, so I have a question: What kind of software exists for Transputers at the present time?
    I'm not talking toolchain compilers and stuff, but 'application' code, to do something useful.

    For example, I know there's Mandelbrot and ray tracing code out there, but
    are there any other kinds of compute? Any big Occam programs about?

    There was HeliOS, but does any applications software exist to run on top of
    it?

    For those messing about with transputers today, what are you running on
    them?

    I gather applications like the ISDN modem and our network analyser are likely very closed source, but I wonder if there is much in the way of open source Transputer software out there?

    Thanks
    Theo

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  • From Arachide@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jul 15 10:58:37 2020
    Le 08/05/2020 à 16:35, Theo a écrit :

    I gather applications like the ISDN modem and our network analyser are likely very closed source, but I wonder if there is much in the way of open source Transputer software out there?

    Thanks
    Theo


    Hi Theo,

    I adapted a little RayTracing program for my transputers. You can find
    it at the very bottom of this page:

    https://gtello.pagesperso-orange.fr/transputer.htm

    Guillaume.

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  • From Mike B.@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 16 07:12:52 2020
    Hi Theo

    but did wonder if it ran
    some kind of DOS emulator on top of the Transputers...

    The transputer network controls the analog modules.

    From ZVRE.PDF

    4.3.3 Processor Structure
    In addition to a 586 CPU, the network analyzer also comprises three 32-bit transputers T805 and one 16-bit transputer T225. Two DSPs are provided for digital signal processing. The 586 CPU handles the complete data exchange with the peripheral devices,
    such as e.g. keyboard entry, display of the softkeys and operation via IEC bus. Irrespective of this, the transputers control the measurement run, consider correction factors and represent the trace on the display. For this purpose, the transputers
    receive the current instrument settings from the 586 CPU via a link adapter, which constitutes the connection between the ISA bus of the CPU board and a transputer link of the T805 on the graphics board (in the following referred to as GTP = graphics
    transputer). The T225 on the graphics and the two T805 on the Measurement Control Unit (MCU) are coupled to the GTP via further transputer links. The T225 exclusively serves as interface between the GTP and the chip set for the graphics.

    As far as I know - there is and was no DOS emulator for transputers.

    -Mike

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