HP Multi-Programming Executive
| MPE, MPE XL, MPE/iX | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Hewlett-Packard |
| Written in | System Programming Language, HP Pascal, Assembly language |
| Working state | Discontinued |
| Initial release | 1974 |
| Latest release | 7.5 / August 2002 |
| Supported platforms | HP 3000 |
| Default user interface | Command-line interface |
| License | Proprietary |
| Official website | MPE/iX at hp.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 2005-03-12) |
MPE (Multi-Programming Executive) is a discontinued business-oriented mainframe computer real-time operating system developed by Hewlett-Packard for their HP 3000 computers. While the HP 3000s were initially mini-mainframes, the final high-end systems supported 12 CPUs and over 2000 simultaneous users.
Description
[edit]It runs on the HP 3000 family of computers, which originally used HP custom 16-bit stack architecture CISC CPUs and were later migrated to PA-RISC where the operating system was called MPE XL.[1]
In 1983, the original version of MPE was written in a language called SPL (Systems Programming Language). MPE XL was written primarily in Pascal, with some assembly language and some of the old SPL code.[citation needed]
In 1992, the OS name was changed to MPE/iX to indicate Unix interoperability with the addition of POSIX compatibility.[2] The discontinuance of the product line was announced in late 2001, with support from HP terminating at the end of 2010. A number of 3rd party companies still support both the hardware and software.[citation needed]
In 2002, HP released the last version MPE/iX 7.5.[3]
Commands
[edit]Among others, MPE/iX supports the following list of common commands and programs.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ COMMUNICATOR 3000/XL Release 1.0 (A.02.00) (R2815 ed.). Hewlett-Packard. April 1988. 5958-3183.
Introduction to MPE XL for MPE V Systems Administrator 30367-60001
- ^ "MPE/iX Release 4.0 (B.40.00) Overview". MPE/iX RELEASE 4.0 (Core Software Release B.40.00). COMMUNICATOR 3000 MPE. Hewlett-Packard. 1992-06-01. 30216-90104.
- ^ 3000-MPE (Software), on HPMuseum site, retrieved on October 2019.
- ^ MPE/iX Commands Reference Manual. HP 3000 MPE/iX Computer Systems (10th ed.). Hewlett-Packard. October 1998. 32650-90864.
External links
[edit]- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2005-03-12)
- Allegro Consultants, Inc. Free HP 3000 Software, MPE Software Support
- Beechglen Development Inc. MPE Software Support Archived 1996-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
- HP MPE/iX homepage
- HP MPE/iX Command reference
- openMPE at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-08-23) Advocates of continued MPE and IMAGE source code access beyond 2010
- "Collection Listings (Documents)". HP Computer Museum. Search for headings 3000, MPE V Operating System, MPE/XL MPE/iX
 | This operating-system-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |