JRT Pascal User's Guide — Original 1982 Manual for the Most Infamous Compiler of the CP/M Era
The compiler that broke its own company. In 1982, JRT Systems of San Francisco slashed the price of JRT Pascal from $295 to an unheard-of $29.95 — and the resulting flood of orders buried them. Unable to keep up with demand, JRT filed for bankruptcy in November 1983, just as Turbo Pascal arrived to finish the job. JRT Pascal set the low-price precedent that changed how software was sold, and it remains a legendary footnote in microcomputer history.
This is the original documentation from that story — the same manual held in the Computer History Museum's collection.
What you get:
Complete JRT Pascal User's Guide, 125 pages, copyright 1980–1982, JRT Systems, San Francisco
Original gray-blue "PASCAL" logo front AND back covers with JRT branding
Two unused original Problem Report sheets still intact at the back — the mail-in bug report forms JRT included for users to send to their San Francisco P.O. box (a fitting inclusion, given how the JRT story ended)
Full contents:
operating JRT Pascal, compiler directives, data types, 25 built-in functions, built-in procedures with CP/M system calls, sequential/random/indexed file I/O, linker, CUSTOMIZ, JRTASM assembler, storage management, external procedures, debugging and trace options, extended CASE statement, plus appendices (reserved words, activity analyzer, JSTAT, JGRAF, restrictions)
Period New York Loose Leaf Corp. three-ring binder imprinted "Property of the U.S. Government" on the inside cover — standard government office stock, not JRT packaging, but evidence this copy spent its working life in a federal office. Somebody in a government agency was programming Pascal on a CP/M machine in the early '80s, and this was their desk reference.
Perfect for:
vintage computing collectors, CP/M and Z80 enthusiasts, retro programmers running JRT Pascal in emulation who need the actual documentation, computer history buffs, or anyone who appreciates one of the great cautionary tales of the early software industry.
Condition:
Complete at 125 pages plus both original covers and two unused problem report sheets.
Pages are clean and highly legible — crisp dot-matrix printing typical of the period. Binder shows honest age wear consistent with 40+ years.
Manual and binder only; no disks or reference card included.
Please review all photos carefully as they are part of the description. Sold as-is.
No returns. Ships fast, securely packaged
