Tulip System-1
Encyclopedia
The Tulip system I was a 16-bit personal computer
based on the Intel 8086
and made by Tulip Computers
, formerly an import company for the Exidy Sorcerer
, called CompuData Systems.
Its 6845-based video display controller
could display 80×24 text in 8 different fonts for supporting different languages, including a (Videotex
based) font for 2×3 pseudo graphic symbols for displaying 160×72 pixel graphics in text mode
. The video display generator could also display graphics with a 384×288 or 768×288 (color) or 768×576 (monochrome) pixel resolution using its built-in NEC 7220 video display Coprocessor
, which had hardware supported drawing functions
, with a very advanced set of bit-block transfers, it could do line generating, arc, circle, ellipse, ellipse arc, filled arc, filled circle, filled ellipse, filled elliptical arc and many other varied commands.
Its memory could be upgraded in units of 128 KB up to 896 KB (much more than the 640 KB of the original PC).
It included a SASI hard disk interface (a predecessor of the SCSI
-standard) and was optionally delivered with a 5 MB or 10 MB hard disk.
The floppy disk size was 400 KB (10 sectors, instead of 8 or 9 with the IBM PC) or 800kb (80 tracks).
It ran at 8 MHz, almost twice the speed of the IBM PC XT which was launched only a few months earlier in July 1983. It had the possibility to use a 8087 coprocessor for math, which increased the speed to > 200 kflops, which was near mainframe data at that time.
After initially using CP/M-86
it quickly switched to using generic MS-DOS
2.00. There was a rudimentary IBM-BIOS-emulator, which allowed the user to use WordStar
and a few other IBM-PC software, but compudata shipped wordstar and some other software as adopted software for this computer.
There was a programming support by Compudata B.V. with MS-Basic, MS-Pascal and MS-Fortran.
On a private base, TeX and Turbo Pascal
were ported to the Tulip System 1.
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
based on the Intel 8086
Intel 8086
The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and mid-1978, when it was released. The 8086 gave rise to the x86 architecture of Intel's future processors...
and made by Tulip Computers
Tulip Computers
Tulip Computers NV was a Dutch computer manufacturer that manufactured PC clones. It was founded in 1979, and listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1984....
, formerly an import company for the Exidy Sorcerer
Exidy Sorcerer
The Sorcerer was one of the early home computer systems, released in 1978 by the videogame company, Exidy. It was comparatively advanced when released, especially when compared to the contemporary more commercially-orientated Commodore PET and TRS-80, but due to a number of problems including a...
, called CompuData Systems.
Its 6845-based video display controller
Video Display Controller
A Video Display Controller or VDC is an integrated circuit which is the main component in a video signal generator, a device responsible for the production of a TV video signal in a computing or game system...
could display 80×24 text in 8 different fonts for supporting different languages, including a (Videotex
Videotex
Videotex was one of the earliest implementations of an "end-user information system". From the late 1970s to mid-1980s, it was used to deliver information to a user in computer-like format, typically to be displayed on a television.In a strict definition, videotex refers to systems that provide...
based) font for 2×3 pseudo graphic symbols for displaying 160×72 pixel graphics in text mode
Text mode
Text mode is a kind of computer display mode in which the content of the screen is internally represented in terms of characters rather than individual pixels. Typically, the screen consists of a uniform rectangular grid of character cells, each of which contains one of the characters of a...
. The video display generator could also display graphics with a 384×288 or 768×288 (color) or 768×576 (monochrome) pixel resolution using its built-in NEC 7220 video display Coprocessor
Coprocessor
A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor . Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, or encryption. By offloading processor-intensive tasks from the main processor,...
, which had hardware supported drawing functions
Blitter
In a computer system, a blitter is a circuit, sometimes as a coprocessor or a logic block on a microprocessor, that is dedicated to the rapid movement and modification of data within that computer's memory...
, with a very advanced set of bit-block transfers, it could do line generating, arc, circle, ellipse, ellipse arc, filled arc, filled circle, filled ellipse, filled elliptical arc and many other varied commands.
Its memory could be upgraded in units of 128 KB up to 896 KB (much more than the 640 KB of the original PC).
It included a SASI hard disk interface (a predecessor of the SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
-standard) and was optionally delivered with a 5 MB or 10 MB hard disk.
The floppy disk size was 400 KB (10 sectors, instead of 8 or 9 with the IBM PC) or 800kb (80 tracks).
It ran at 8 MHz, almost twice the speed of the IBM PC XT which was launched only a few months earlier in July 1983. It had the possibility to use a 8087 coprocessor for math, which increased the speed to > 200 kflops, which was near mainframe data at that time.
After initially using CP/M-86
CP/M-86
CP/M-86 was a version of the CP/M operating system that Digital Research made for the Intel 8086 and Intel 8088. The commands are those of CP/M-80. Executable files used the relocatable .CMD file format...
it quickly switched to using generic MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
2.00. There was a rudimentary IBM-BIOS-emulator, which allowed the user to use WordStar
WordStar
WordStar is a word processor application, published by MicroPro International, originally written for the CP/M operating system but later ported to DOS, that enjoyed a dominant market share during the early to mid-1980s. Although Seymour I...
and a few other IBM-PC software, but compudata shipped wordstar and some other software as adopted software for this computer.
There was a programming support by Compudata B.V. with MS-Basic, MS-Pascal and MS-Fortran.
On a private base, TeX and Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment for the Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS, developed by Borland under Philippe Kahn's leadership...
were ported to the Tulip System 1.