The last in the Commodore PET series was the SP9000, known as the SuperPET or MicroMainframe. This machine was designed at the University of Waterloo for teaching programming. In addition to the basic CBM 8000 hardware, the 9000 added a second CPU in the form of the Motorola 6809, more RAM and included a number of programming languages including a BASIC in ROM for the 6502 and a separate ANSI Minimal BASIC-compatible BASIC for the 6809, along with APL, COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal and a 6809 assembler on floppies.
| Manufacturer | Commodore International (aka Commodore Business Machines) | CPU | MOS Technology 6502 @ 1 MHz Motorola 6809 @ 1MHz |
| Year Introduced | 1981 | RAM | 96KB |
| Introductory Price | $1,500 (32KB) | Storage | 5.25" Floppy Disk (via IEEE-488 interface) |
When powered on in its Programmer mode, the SuperPET brings up a menu allowing you to select from its assortment of powerful programming languages and development tools. The idea behind the machine was that developers and academic types could do their work at home on the SuperPET. That work could then be uploaded back to an IBM mainframe using a direct RS232 connection as a terminal.
Packages include: RS232 configuration (Setup), a Machine Language Monitor, an APL development package, a BASIC development package (in addition to the standard Commodore BASIC), a powerful text editor/terminal program, a Fortran development package, a Pascal development package, an Assembler development package, and a COBOL development package.
| Wikipedia | Commodore PET |
| old-computers.com | SuperPET 9000 |
| zimmers.net | CSP9000 |