At 10:19 PM 2/12/2004 -0600, you wrote:
> > You know what would be *really* cool (and expensive, and useless...) is
> > to interface a punch card read/writer so you can punch a google request
> > card, run it, and have it punch the URLS back out on cards, or print on
> > paper.
When my father was writing software at IBM (he programmed on the 650) he
tells me that coding involved:
1. Punching in your program on cards.
2. Loading the compiler/assembler program into the machine off punched cards.
3. Running the compiler/assembler.
4. The compiler/assembler reads in your program card deck as data.
5. The compiler outputs your object code as a deck of punched cards.
6. You load in the punched cards (the object deck) to test your program.
This cycle is repeated, churning out a new deck of object cards, for each
iteration of your program.
We sure have it easy these days. He speaks of the drum memory as having
been a big improvement at the time, when it could be used.
These days Dad will dabble once in awhile in Lotus 123 but mostly Mom has
the Thinkpad (their only computer) to herself. Her heritage is the years
she spent before computers, typing right and left justified text on
memeograph stencils for church bulletins. I'm sure she can still center
text of arbitrary length on a typed page with a Selectric.
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Received on Fri Feb 13 2004 - 00:03:37 GMT