CP/M

This article is about the Digital Research operating system. For the similarly named IBM and Microsoft operating system, see CP/DOS.
"BDOS" redirects here. For the DOS kernel, see BDOS (DOS). For the MSX-DOS kernel, see BDOS (MSX).
"SCP (operating system)" redirects here. For the developer of the unrelated SCP 86-DOS, see Seattle Computer Products.

CP/M
A screenshot of CP/M-86
DeveloperDigital Research, Inc., Gary Kildall
Written inPL/M, Assembly language
Working stateHistorical
Source modelOriginally closed source, now open source[1]
Initial release1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Latest release3.1 / 1983; 41 years ago (1983)[2]
Available inEnglish
Update methodRe-installation
Package managerNone
PlatformsIntel 8080, Intel 8085, Zilog Z80, Zilog Z8000, Intel 8086, Motorola 68000
Kernel typeMonolithic kernel
Influenced byRT-11, OS/8
Default
user interface		Command-line interface (CCP.COM)
LicenseOriginally proprietary, now BSD-like
Succeeded byMP/M, CP/M-86
Official websiteDigital Research CP/M page

CP/M,[3] originally standing for Control Program/Monitor[4] and later Control Program for Microcomputers,[5][6][7] is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. CP/M is a disk operating system[8] and its purpose is to organize files on a magnetic storage medium, and to load and run programs stored on a disk. Initially confined to single-tasking on 8-bit processors and no more than 64 kilobytes of memory, later versions of CP/M added multi-user variations and were migrated to 16-bit processors.

The combination of CP/M and S-100 bus computers became an early standard in the microcomputer industry. This computer platform was widely used in business through the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s.[9] CP/M increased the market size for both hardware and software by greatly reducing the amount of programming required to port an application to a new manufacturer's computer.[10][11] An important driver of software innovation was the advent of (comparatively) low-cost microcomputers running CP/M, as independent programmers and hackers bought them and shared their creations in user groups.[12] CP/M was eventually displaced by DOS following the 1981 introduction of the IBM PC.

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