Short for
Virtual Address eXtension, Digital Equipment Corporation's successor to its PDP-11 line of
minicomputers. As its name implies, VAX systems feature an
operating system --
VMS -- that supports
virtual memory.
The VAX was introduced in 1977 and reached its pinnacle of success in the mid-1980s. It has been eclipsed by RISC -based workstations, including DEC's own line of Alpha stations.
