Since we seem to be telling computer stories, I wrote BASIC on a GE mainframe in 1967. I used a Xerox Alto in 1975 (and your nerd cred is lacking if you have to look it up) and I used punch cards professionally in 1980, plus or minus. Punch cards were already on the way out but I could use a keypunch and a remote job entry terminal that was in the office building or drive about 30 minutes or more to stand in line to use an interactive terminal. The client had a requirement that the source code was a deliverable and they were not quite expecting four boxes of punch cards.
I also co-discovered a bug in an optimizing FORTRAN compiler for an IBM 360/65 circa 1977. We were implementing various matrix operations and some of our test data involved matrices that had plus or minus one at various locations. Our code worked, but took forever with optimization off. But it failed with optimization on. Simplistically, the optimizer incorrectly failed to load a register with the -1 before it reinitialized an array. Don't trust your compiler
During my first year of college (back in the dark ages) I took a "Computer Science" intro. course. We came up with our own simple programs and punched our own cards on the key punch machines. Then you had to wait your turn in line to actually run the program in the computer which was the size of New York. I remember how folks would look at one anothers' rubber banded stack of cards and make assumptions about how smart one was by how thick the card stack was. My one and only program involved predicting surfing conditions on any given day at the beach. I no longer surf, and know virtually nothing about computer programming.
To veer, I can't tell you how many personal computers I've found in store rooms or in closets in data centers with "do not touch, website will crash" signs on them. And when I'd ask, no one could tell me what it was doing!The ones I used did not have a "Do Not Touch" sign.
I stumbled on the ideal way to answer that question. It's as simple as a reboot. The owner of the site/process will appear in short order to explain the catastrophic consequences of your actions.
Here's a pic from the Computer History Museum:
I still have one of those IBM flowchart templates on my bookshelf. It's unsettling to see things you own in a museum.
Got one!
Let's see. Also had several pads of IBM coding sheets, toseed recently. Acoustic coupler that I sold on eBay. Still have a bunch of punch cards - use them to write notes.
As a senior in college, I took a job as the 11 - 7 computer operator on a big Honeywell mainframe, punch cards, etc. Moved up to a DEC PDP-11. And so on.
Ended up as a college professor teaching college courses on BASIC and COBOL, and several other topics that no longer exist! A long time ago now...
walrus
The Z80 ruled the market for a long time! It’s crazy to me that my TRS-80 Model III used the same processor.
