OT: Show how old you are with printer/punch card control codes.

From: McFadden, Mike <mmcfadden_at_cmh.edu>
Date: Mon May 22 13:48:06 2000

Punch card trivia
Any character in column 6 made this card a continuation of the previous
card. This only applies to Fortran program source cards not data cards. Also
don't triple punch any columns, the card reader with usually produce a check
error I don't remember the drum card programming codes, you could skip
columns, force numeric, automatically insert zeros and periods.
Line printer trivia
Many printer control codes were very useful when trying to print pictures on
the back side of green-bar.
Output on line printers
+ in column 1 don't start a new line
0 in column 1 double space
1 in column 1 form feed
We used to turn over the paper and attempt to print "pictures" after hours.
Somewhere I still have a 9-track tape from 1975 that has a "beautiful" woman
on it. I heard that IBM sequentially printed Christmas banners at a trade
show by using 3 printers each with a different color ribbon, Red, Green,
Black, and feeding the paper continuously through each printer in turn.

Nostalgia or is it Altzhimers
Mike
Received on Mon May 22 2000 - 13:48:06 BST