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When PC Still Means 'Punch Card'

Posted by michael on from the do-not-fold-spindle-or-mutilate dept.

ricst writes: "The New York Times reports that there are stll many applications that use punchcards. "Use what?", you say. Slashdotters not yet in their dotage may have never seen these 80 column Hollerith field cards, or the clunky machines that are still used to punch holes in them. And let's not forget the bizarre JCL (Job Control Language) that's needed to be at the front of the deck. Well... turns out many companies still use them, with slight modifications (like the airlines that print a magnetic strip on them)."

5 of 446 comments (clear)

  1. Cards? by saintlupus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    slashdotters not yet in their dotage may have never seen these 80 column Hollerith field cards

    Hell, seems like most Slashdotters don't remember the heady days of the 486 any more, let alone punch cards.

    "You mean computers used to have just a command line? Not even Windows 95?"

    --saint
    (I know, I know, troll. Fuck off.)

  2. Seen them!? I punched 'em - still have a box ... by gnetwerker · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I don't mean to be an old fart of the "I walked ten miles to school uphill in the snow" variety, but it might benefit /.ers to remember that they didn't invent computers, software, or much of the technology they gleefully use and (?) misuse.

    Hollerith cards are ~80 yrs old, the stored program computer is > 50 yrs old, the Internet is > 30 years old, the PC is > 25 years old, and all the important user-interface functions we now use (windows, icons, mouse, pointer) were demonstrated in 1968 by Doug Englebart (http://www.bootstrap.org/).

    I used to hate the comment that "I don't know what progamming language I'll be writing in 20 years, but I know it will be called FORTRAN". Now I see the (only slightly inprecise) wisdom in it. You would probably be bored by my stories about entering PDP-11 code on the console switches in octal, but there is a lesson in there somewhere.

    The message is: real change takes a long time -- one or two human generations. Overnight sensations and revolutions are usually many years in the making. Don't respect yer elders, but at least know what we did wrong. Andy Warhol said: "They say time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself".

    End of Sermon

    mcg

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. Re:why is this story posted so late? by s390 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I mean, anyone who relates to this story is probably in bed asleep already.

    Wrong, you're only exposing your own stupid ignorance of serious mission-critical systems, cognitive ergonomics, and how industrial strength computing actually works.

    Although most physical punch cards were replaced by magnetic media about twenty years ago, give or take a few, "card-image" control and program files still run 80% of the large systems in existence - government, banking, insurance, credit-cards, drugs, consumer products, transportation, heavy manufacturing, distribution, retail, etc. The 80-column paradigm is alive and well, and it's not going to go away any time soon. It's merely been extended, but we still think in terms of "lines" of source code, don't we?

    Most source-code is still written in a 72-column or 80-column format. Where do think that came from, eh? The ergonomics of composing and reading code are still as valid now as they were then, when the punch card format was defined. Damned puppies! No respect for the technology that runs your world. Too 37337 to learn anything. Bah!

  5. Re:Non-Volatile Memory by Tony-A · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's very easy to erase a paper tape.
    Just hold down rubout. All holes punched.
    Ever wonder why hex FF never gets a printable character?