DECUS FOCAL8-5 write-up

Cite as: DECUS FOCAL8-5 write-up
Original: https://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/pdp8/src/decus/focal8-5/decus-focal8-5.pdf
sha256: 6aa08a4cc2cbcbfd373d378b8fc10772b3a2b8d6c308f27c4c6032b15ae3824a
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240626040650/https://svn.so-much-stuff.com/svn/trunk/pdp8/src/decus/focal8-5/decus-focal8-5.pdf
Accessed: 2026-10-20
Licence: none stated
Credit: Doug Dyment wrote the program; DECUS distributed it. Scan preserved by the so-much-stuff.com PDP-8 archive.
Notes: A 6-page scan (sha256 6aa08a4cc2cbcbfd373d378b8fc10772b3a2b8d6c308f27c4c6032b15ae3824a): cover, abstract and operating notes (p. 1), FRAN patch (p. 2), the program listing (p. 3), and a table of variables (p. 4). The write-up is undated; the catalog entry beside it on the archive gives "July 1973", a catalog date. The scan doesn't name the author; the DECUS catalogs credit Doug Dyment (decus-catalog-1969-11).

Cited on

One person can farm 10 acres, but Ahl's check is strict, so $P$ people may plant at most $10 P - 1$ acres, where Dyment's FOCAL allows $10 P$ .	`p. 1, Abstract`	Code
Dyment's land costs 17 plus a roll of 1 to 5, so 18 to 22 bushels per acre, which matches his write-up's average of "one acre for 20 bushels of grain".	`p. 1, Abstract`	Code
Dyment's steward has a patience counter, `C`, and when an impossible order finds it below zero, "HAMURABI HAS GONE ON STRIKE" and the game ends.	`p. 4, variables`	Code