Datapoint 3300
Encyclopedia
The DataPoint 3300 was the first computer terminal
manufactured by the Computer Terminal Corporation
(later renamed to Datapoint Corporation), announced in 1967 and shipping in 1969. Since this terminal was intended to replace a teleprinter
such as those made by Teletype Corporation
it was one of the first glass TTYs (glass for the screen, TTY as the abbreviation for "Teletype") ever produced.
As well as being sold under its own name, it was also sold as the DEC VT06 and the HP 2600A (introduced in 1972).
Model 33, but went beyond what a Teletype could achieve with its paper output. It supported control codes to move the cursor up, down, left and right, to the top left of the screen, or to the start of the bottom line. The 3300 could also clear to the end of the current line, or clear to the end of the screen.
It did not, however, support direct cursor positioning. It also had 25 rows of 72 columns
of upper-case characters, rather than the 80 x 24 that would become more common in subsequent years.
, the Datapoint 3300 did not use a microprocessor
in its implementation, but instead used TTL logic in small-scale integrated circuits.
At the time of its introduction, RAM was expensive (it would not be until 1970 that Intel released the 1103, the first DRAM semiconductor memory chip making RAM affordable). Thus, the terminal stored its display of 25 rows of 72 columns of upper-case characters using fifty-four 200-bit shift register
s, arranged in six tracks of nine packs each, providing storage for 1800 six-bit characters. The shift-register design meant that scrolling the terminal display could be accomplished by simply pausing the display output to skip one line of characters.
Computer terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system...
manufactured by the Computer Terminal Corporation
Datapoint
Datapoint Corporation, originally known as Computer Terminal Corporation , was a computer company based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Founded in 1967 by Phil Ray and Gus Roche, its first products were, as the company's initial name suggests, computer terminals...
(later renamed to Datapoint Corporation), announced in 1967 and shipping in 1969. Since this terminal was intended to replace a teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
such as those made by Teletype Corporation
Teletype Corporation
The Teletype Corporation, a part of American Telephone and Telegraph Company's Western Electric manufacturing arm since 1930, came into being in 1928 when the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Company changed its name to the name of its trademark equipment...
it was one of the first glass TTYs (glass for the screen, TTY as the abbreviation for "Teletype") ever produced.
As well as being sold under its own name, it was also sold as the DEC VT06 and the HP 2600A (introduced in 1972).
Details
The Datapoint 3300 emulated a TeletypeTeletype Corporation
The Teletype Corporation, a part of American Telephone and Telegraph Company's Western Electric manufacturing arm since 1930, came into being in 1928 when the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Company changed its name to the name of its trademark equipment...
Model 33, but went beyond what a Teletype could achieve with its paper output. It supported control codes to move the cursor up, down, left and right, to the top left of the screen, or to the start of the bottom line. The 3300 could also clear to the end of the current line, or clear to the end of the screen.
It did not, however, support direct cursor positioning. It also had 25 rows of 72 columns
Characters per line
In typography and computing characters per line or terminal width refers to the maximal number of monospaced characters that may appear on a single line...
of upper-case characters, rather than the 80 x 24 that would become more common in subsequent years.
Hardware
Unlike later terminals, such as the VT100VT100
The VT100 is a video terminal that was made by Digital Equipment Corporation . Its detailed attributes became the de facto standard for terminal emulators.-History:...
, the Datapoint 3300 did not use a microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
in its implementation, but instead used TTL logic in small-scale integrated circuits.
At the time of its introduction, RAM was expensive (it would not be until 1970 that Intel released the 1103, the first DRAM semiconductor memory chip making RAM affordable). Thus, the terminal stored its display of 25 rows of 72 columns of upper-case characters using fifty-four 200-bit shift register
Shift register
In digital circuits, a shift register is a cascade of flip flops, sharing the same clock, which has the output of any one but the last flip-flop connected to the "data" input of the next one in the chain, resulting in a circuit that shifts by one position the one-dimensional "bit array" stored in...
s, arranged in six tracks of nine packs each, providing storage for 1800 six-bit characters. The shift-register design meant that scrolling the terminal display could be accomplished by simply pausing the display output to skip one line of characters.