This solution provides two implementations in MACRO-11, that being the macro assembly language for the DEC PDP-11 range of computers.
This solution includes two implementations:
- One (SIEVE.ASM) uses one byte per prime candidate. Due to applicable memory constraints, the sieve size for this implementation is 1,000.
- The other (SIEVE2.ASM) uses one bit per prime candidate. This implementation's sieve size is 10,000.
This solution's implementations can be assembled and executed on an actual PDP-11 computer or a sufficiently complete emulator, provided it's running an operating system that has MACRO-11 installed. A list of available emulators can be found in the Emulators section on the PDP-11 Wikipedia page.
Use the following commands to edit, assemble and run an implementation on the solution. These specific commands apply to a PDP-11 running RT-11 and build and run SIEVE2.ASM which is located on the D1 device; modify the commands to match your specific situation where appropriate:
macro d1:sieve2.asm
link sieve2
run sieve2
This is an image showing the results of an execution of SIEVE2.ASM on an actual PDP-11/34. The "ticks" that are reported are time units equal to 1/60th of a second on PDP-11s that are connected to a 60Hz power grid. On machines that are powered from a 50Hz grid, a tick may be 1/50th of a second instead, but that is not always the case.
