[ih] byte order, was Octal vs Hex, not Re: Dotted decimal notation

[Bill Ricker]

> But of course, there is an alternative history, as so often:
> > https://history-computer.com/ModernComputer/Electronic/PDP-11.html
> > which states that the actual design was done by Harold McFarland.
>

>From memory ...

The grand architecture and the outline of the ISA of the PDP-11 is Bell's:
 it was his Register Transfer Logic theoretical / simulator machine for the
grad course he taught at CMU. (Part of DEC's deep relationship with CMU.)

McFarland made it real, but first proposed a design to make it real.

(Does this echo McCarthy's LISP being interviewing as only a chalk-board
language, until a student implemented it? Yes!)

Bell as DEC VP Engineering (having lead multiple 18- & 36-bit mainframe-ish
projects, incl PDP-6,-10) had to choose one of McFarland's and Edson
DeCastro's designs for DEC's next product, a 16-bit mini product.

DEC Marketing might have preferred E deC's 16-bit expanded PDP-8
architecture option, with potential migration path for existing customers.
And it would have been the safer bet,  as Castro and the PDP-8 team had
recent minicomputer experience that Bell & McFarland did not.
(Of course the departmental timesharing market that the 11 would open
couldn't be foreseen, it wasn't just going to steal embedded and
instrumentation sales from the 8.)

Bell was pleased to pick the design based on his own academic theory.

DeCastro was not pleased and so left and realized his design as the DG
Nova. (I don't recall if it sold well into existing PDP-8 shops or not, but
it at least sold well enough.)

(DeCastro nearly sank DG by avoiding recapitulating the offense, he green
lighted a 32-bit expansion of the 16-bit expansion of the original 12-bit
design, which project failed. /Soul of a New Machine/ records the Eagle,
the skunk works greenfield 32-bit design that worked.
   Small world, I worked with some of the Eagle OS team elsewhere,  who
recounted that Kidder interviewed them too, but dispared of explaining the
tribulations of OS-writing in popular literature, so focused on the
MicroKids.
  One of whom was on the ACM Northeast Regional Conference committee with
me. Alas while we produced two Proceedings, there was only one conference.
If only we'd had Zoom-like tele-conferencing then.  Other brands are
available! We'd hoped the recession reduction in travel budgets would make
a regional conference attractive; nope, we sold one booth and had more
speakers than prepaid attendees registered, so we reluctant canceled. But
the accepted papers were published, and a copy went to everyone who'd
registered. Mildly collectible? 😆)

(Speaking of collectible. Somewhere around here, I have a PDP-6 ALU
bit-slice board signed by Gordon, with one of the feont-side bus-straps.
Terrible design for Field Service, hard to board-swap!  I was a young
volunteer at TCM Marlboro and TCM Boston when Dr Mrs Gwen Bell was in
charge, and helped Dr Mr Gordon in TCM housecleaning prior to the move to
Boston. He was amused to hear i used his book for VCs and Founders as a
guide to evaluating which startups to work for.)

>