bron@bronze.wpd.sgi.com (Bron Campbell Nelson) (05/31/90)
In article <1990May30.065025.25861@diku.dk>, jensting@skinfaxe.diku.dk (Jens Tingleff) writes: > reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) writes: > > >>But who uses punched cards these days? > > > I do! For book markers :-) > > Actually, the use of magnetic media takes away a lot of the mechanical > charm of computer background storage. Paper tape and punched cards are more > *FUN*. Think of the endless fun you can have putting together a stack of cards > dropped on the floor.... > At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, there is a program whose name is "Nixon." The (probably apochryphal) tale of its naming goes like this: It is the early 60's. Nixon loses the election for governor of California and gives his "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more" speech. Some time later, a computer operator at LLNL drops a box of cards, scattering them to the four winds. A second operator looks over the mess and pronounces judgement: "That program will never run again." Sometime later, both the program and Tricky Dick run again, and so the code is dubbed "Nixon" in remembrance of the feat. -- Bron Campbell Nelson bron@sgi.com or possibly ..!ames!sgi!bron These statements are my own, not those of Silicon Graphics.
dave@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (David A Rasmussen) (05/31/90)
From article <61208@sgi.sgi.com>, by bron@bronze.wpd.sgi.com (Bron Campbell Nelson): > In article <1990May30.065025.25861@diku.dk>, jensting@skinfaxe.diku.dk (Jens Tingleff) writes: >> reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) writes: >> >> >>But who uses punched cards these days? >> Me too, but our users do too :-( We are replacing a Sperry 1100/80a with a Convex 220 this year. Of course you know that as soon as we get rid of the 1100 (which no longer has a card punch thank god (although it was fun throwing the chad at enemies :-)) some user is going to come by and say "but you said this new machine could run these dusty decks". Well, I suppose we can let them read the cards in on the optical scanner and LET THEM figure out what the holes mean :-) -- Internet:dave@uwm.edu, Uucp:uwm!dave, Bitnet:dave%uwm.edu@INTERBIT Bellnet: +1 (414) 229-5133, USnail: CSD, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201
amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman (Amiga Man)) (05/31/90)
Thanks for telling these stories. I have found them very funny and
entertaining. I had no idea about these punch cards but I asked around and was
surprised that this is how people used to program.
Thanks,
AMH
P.S. I'm just a college puke who found this funny and will someday be taking
a job from one of you. (The new breed)
* Andy Hartman | I'd deny half of this crap anyway!| ///
* Indiana University |-----------------------------------| ///
*++Construction++++++| amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu | \\\///
*+++++++Zone+++++++++| AMHARTMA@rose.ucs.indiana.edu | \XX/ jensting@skinfaxe.diku.dk (Jens Tingleff) (06/01/90)
dave@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (David A Rasmussen) writes: [..] >Well, I suppose we can let them read the cards in on the optical scanner >and LET THEM figure out what the holes mean :-) Now THAT'S a really good solution to the problem of reading old cards. There are very few places where you can have your old cards read in, these days. Actually, in Denmark, the only place I've heard of who does this sort of thing professionally charges some 40 cent *PR CARD*. [actually, our Electronics club (for EE students) has a working card reader, we just haven't gotten around to selling the card reading service.. ] Jens jensting@diku.dk is Jens Tingleff MSc EE, Research Assistent at DIKU Institute of Computer Science, Copenhagen University Snail mail: DIKU Universitetsparken 1 DK2100 KBH O
jacka@aspen.IAG.HP.COM (Jack C. Armstrong) (06/02/90)
What do you use punched cards for? Sigh... Oh, the callous barbs of youth! At one point (in the '50s), IBM made a beast called a CPC (Card Programmed Calculator). Instead of programming steps with a plugboard panel (don't get me started!), instructions were punched into cards, interspersed with data. Loops were 'programmed' by duplicating the cards containing the steps of the loop! I actually saw one of these things, I think at the Lucky Lager Brewery in San Francisco, in the early '60s. (Or maybe at the Planter's Peanut factory down the street... don't remember). It was due to be removed soon, so I spent a few hours writing a short working program, just to be able to say I'd done it. Can't say I miss punched cards, but they *were* handy to jot thinks on and carry around in a shirt pocket. Took my wife years to learn how to use something else for a grocery list! Jack C. Armstong --- (I'm not really that old, I was born with total recall.) [BTW: I'll bet babies these days don't teethe on write rings either!]
steve@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Steve Balogh) (06/04/90)
In article <46281@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> amhartma@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Andy Hartman (Amiga Man)) writes: >P.S. I'm just a college puke who found this funny and will someday be taking > a job from one of you. (The new breed) > You won't get my job! A bit too far to commute I would say. ;-) ----_--_-_-_--_-__-_------_-__---_-___-_----_-____-_-_--__-_--_--___-_-_-_--__-_ Steve Balogh (Network Manager) VK3YMY | steve@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au Chisholm Institute of Technology | steve%monu6.cc.monash.oz@uunet.UU.NET PO Box 197, Caulfield East | ICBM: 37 52 38.8 S 145 02 42.0 E Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. 3145 | +61 3 573 2266
jharkins@sagpd1.UUCP (Jim Harkins) (06/05/90)
In article <1990Jun1.072540.306@diku.dk> jensting@skinfaxe.diku.dk (Jens Tingleff) writes: >There are very few places where you can have your old cards read in, >these days. Around here you just go to any community college or high school. Only half a smiley here as when I went to the community college 10 years ago we used punched cards. And I had a TRS-80 at home at the time..... -- jim jharkins@sagpd1 I hate to see you go, but I love to see you walk away.
news@ism780c.isc.com (News system) (06/05/90)
In article <1600003@aspen.IAG.HP.COM> jacka@aspen.IAG.HP.COM (Jack C. Armstrong) writes: >At one point (in the '50s), IBM made a beast called a CPC (Card Programmed >Calculator). Instead of programming steps with a plugboard panel (don't >get me started!), instructions were punched into cards, interspersed with >data. Loops were 'programmed' by duplicating the cards containing the >steps of the loop! I actually used a CPC for wind tunnel data processing in the early 50's. An interesting part of the system was that the data cards were interdigitated with the program cards. This was done using a 056 collator. (a machine that could merge two decks to form a single one.) There were typically one or two data cards for every several hundred program cards. After running a batch of code and data through the machine, the data were removed so the code could be reused with new data. The way we did this was to punch the program on cards with the left hand top corner cut off. The data were punched on cards with the right hand top corner cut off. Thus the data could be easily removed from the program by hand. We replaced the CPC with an IBM/650 in about 1955. The 650 was a stored program machine but it was called a calculating punch by IBM. I was told it had that designation (instead of computer) for tax reasons. Marv Rubinstein -- The old days were BAD.