50 years ago, CP/M started the microcomputer revolution
Gary Kildall developed CP/M in 1974, a pioneering microcomputer operating system that influenced the industry. Its decline began with the rise of MS-DOS, but it remains historically significant.
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In 1974, Gary Kildall developed CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers), which became one of the first cross-platform microcomputer operating systems, significantly impacting the hardware and software industries. Initially, CP/M was designed to run on early microcomputers, fitting into under 200 kB of memory, which was suitable for the technology of the time. Kildall, who was teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School while working with Intel, created CP/M after developing a programming language for Intel's 8008 microprocessor. The operating system was inspired by existing minicomputer and mainframe systems, allowing it to adapt to various hardware through a Basic I/O System (BIOS).
By 1980, CP/M had become the de facto standard OS, running on over 200 different machines and generating significant revenue for Kildall's company, Digital Research, Inc. However, the introduction of Intel's 8086 microprocessor and Digital Research's slow adaptation to new technology led to its decline. Microsoft capitalized on this gap by licensing a competing OS, MS-DOS, which became widely adopted.
Despite its decline, CP/M has seen renewed interest in recent years, with modern re-implementations and open-source versions available. Its legacy includes establishing a market for compatible software across different hardware platforms, paving the way for the future of the computer industry. Kildall's contributions to computing are recognized as foundational to the development of personal computing.
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