The Apple II Source Code for the LOGO Language Found #VintageComputing
Adafruit visited the history of the LOGO “turtle graphics” language not long ago.
Now on Twitter, folks have found the source code for the MIT LOGO program used on Apple II computers, later licensed to Terrapin. Source on GitHub.
It turns out that the program was written on a big iron Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-10 mainframe running the Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS). The code is dated September 4th, 1980.
The code is in 6502 assembly and the program works the whole Apple II memory map for functionality. The code was built by a cross assembler which came from the DECUS user group and originally ran on the DEC’s proprietary TOPS-10 operating system. It runs on ITS by way of a TOPS-10 system call emulator.
LSCI Logo, another LOGO implementation, was also licensed to Apple and is different from MIT’s LOGO.
** Updated with some info from Mr. Brinkhoff – thank you! **
** Updated 9/21/2021 with new links to the source directory within the repo **
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Some comments:
– This is MIT’s Logo, later licensed to Terrapin.
– LCSI Logo is another implementation, licensed to Apple.
– PDP-10 is not a minicomputer, but a big iron mainframe.
Actually, the PDPs (the whole line, including the PDP-10) were indeed mini-computers. That is how they were known as and marketed by DEC. That does not mean they were small by 21st century standards. It means they were smaller and way cheaper than the truly big iron mainframe made by IBM and others. in the late 70s-early 80s the computer categories tended to be, in decreasing order of size/price: mainframe, mini, micro.
In case you want to see/relive what Apple II Logo looked like, here’s a video of it running on the Apple II GS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mttyoaspa7U
Some comments:
– This is MIT’s Logo, later licensed to Terrapin.
– LCSI Logo is another implementation, licensed to Apple.
– PDP-10 is not a minicomputer, but a big iron mainframe.
Actually, the PDPs (the whole line, including the PDP-10) were indeed mini-computers. That is how they were known as and marketed by DEC. That does not mean they were small by 21st century standards. It means they were smaller and way cheaper than the truly big iron mainframe made by IBM and others. in the late 70s-early 80s the computer categories tended to be, in decreasing order of size/price: mainframe, mini, micro.