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TOPS-20 Tutorials

This is a collection of user contributed tutorials for TWENEX.ORG. While these tutorials may contain specific information to TWENEX.ORG, they may also be general enough such that other TOPS-20 and TOPS-20 PANDA Distribution users could benefit from them. Access to this WIKI is available by MAILing or SENDing a message to SMJ on TWENEX.ORG.

TOPS-20 Tutorials

TWENEX.ORG Basics

howto Authoring tutorials, style guidelines, et cetera
access Getting and accessing your own TOPS-20 account on TWENEX.ORG
starter A starter guide to TOPS-20 aimed at UNIX users
EXEC Using EXEC—the TOPS-20 command parser, and TOPS-20 command files

E-Mail and Communication

advise ADVISE another's TTY
commode A simple remark chat using linked TTYs
bboard Shared MAIL folder which acts as a Bulletin Board
mm Reading and Sending MAIL via Mail Manager
send SENDing and REPLYing to TOPS-20 Instant Message
talk Linking TTYs together

Languages and Programming

Compilers General notes on compiling source code on TOPS-20
Assemblers General notes on PDP-10 assembly language programming
AID Using Algebraic Interpretive Dialog
APL Using the APLSF interpreter
BASIC Using BASIC
C Using the KCC C compiler
COBOL Using the COBOL 74 compiler
FORTH Using the FORTH interpreters
FORTRAN Using the FORTRAN-20 compiler
Lisp Accessing and using LISP
MACRO Using TOPS-20 MACRO assembly language
MDL Muddling with the MDL programming language
MIDAS Using MIDAS assembly language
FAIL Using FAIL assembly language
Pascal Using TOPS-20 PASCAL
SNOBOL Using SNOBOL on TWENEX.ORG

Text Editors

Default editor Invoking your default editor (CREATE/EDIT)
EDIT Using the EDIT text editor
EDT-20 Using the EDT-20 text editor
Emacs Using the Emacs text editor
TECO Using the TECO and Video TECO (TV) text editors

(The editor SED is also listed in @HELP NEW-USER, but the executable file is corrupt and inoperative.)

Games

Haunt A haunted house text adventure game programmed by John Laird in 1979 using the rule-based language OPS4.
Star Trek (Space War) The text-based strategy game inspired by the television series Star Trek popular on minicomputers, mainframes, and early PCs in the 1970s and -80s.
Zork “The classic underground maze/puzzle.”

References and External Links

TOPS-20 Software Notebook Set
TOPS-20 User's Guide (HTML) (PDF) (text)
TOPS-20 Commands Reference Manual
TOPS-20 Interactive Tutorial (summary and transcript)
Getting Into TWENEX
Using Multiple Interactive Programs on TWENEX
interlisp Some references to the interlisp programming language that we have here on twenex
PDP-10 bitsavers.org DEC PDP-10 documentation archive
Wikidata item: TOPS-20
Tutorial de TOPS-20 en Español de TWENEX.ORGTOPS-20 Tutorial (in Spanish)

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