Levy_S-Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution

worked on a translation of the Micro-FLIT debugger so that writing the softwarefor the "One" would be easier. Samson promptly named Kotok's debugger "DDT,"and the name would stick, though the program itself would be modified countlesstimes by hackers who wanted to add features or bum instructions out of it.Kotok was not the only one preparing for the arrival of the PDP-1. Like a motleycollection of expectant parents, other hackers were busily weaving softwarebooties and blankets for the new baby coming into the family, so this heralded heirto the computing throne would be welcome as soon as it was delivered in lateSeptember.The hackers helped bring the PDP-1 into its new home, the Kluge Room next doorto the TX-0. It was a beauty: sitting behind a console half as long as the Tixo's,you'd look at one compact panel of toggle switches and lights; next to that was thedisplay screen, encased in a bright blue, six-sided, quasi-deco housing; behind itwere the tall cabinets, the size of a refrigerator and three times as deep, with thewires, boards, switches, and transistors entry to that, of course, was forbidden.There was a Flexowriter connected for on-line input (people complained about thenoise so much that the Flexowriter was eventually replaced by a modified IBMtypewriter which didn't work nearly so well) and a highspeed paper-tape reader,also for input. All in all, a downright heavenly toy.Jack Dennis liked some of the software written by BBN for the prototype PDP-1,particularly the assembler. Kotok, though, felt like retching when he saw thatassembler run the mode of operation didn't seem to fit the on-the-fly style he likedso he and a few others told Dennis that they wanted to write their own. "That's abad idea," said Dennis, who wanted an assembler up and running right away, andfigured that it would take weeks for the hackers to do it.Kotok and the others were adamant. This was a program that they'd be living with.It had to be just perfect. (Of course no program ever is, but that never stopped ahacker.)"I'll tell you what," said Kotok, this twenty-year-old Buddha-shaped wizard, to theskeptical yet sympathetic Jack Dennis. "If we write this program over the weekendand have it working, would you pay us for the time?"The pay scale at that time was such that the total would be something under fivehundred dollars. "That sounds like a fair deal," said Dennis.Kotok, Samson, Saunders, Wagner, and a couple of others began on a Friday nightlate in September. They figured they would work from the TX-0 assembler that