> On 2008-04-04, Robert Rabinoff <rar113@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > When I first learned to program in 1964 we used an IBM 1620, fondly known > > as CADET (Can't Add, Doesn't Even Try). > > Heh. My one-and-only formal computer class was learning FORTRAN, which > we ran on an IBM 1620. The computer had more important things to do than > run student programs, so we would write them out in spiral bound > notebooks in class and as homework, then come to the computer center > after hours when the keypunches weren't being used for more important > work, punch the cards and put them in the job queue to be run over night > (we weren't allowed to touch the sacred computer). The next day we'd > come back for the job printout (on wide greenbar paper, of course), > peruse the errors in our programs, punch new cards, drop them in the > queue and repeat until it worked. his got me to thinking. For me the year was 1962, the computer was an IBM 709, serial number NASA-1, at Washington State University. My first and only formal programming class was a FORTRAN lab that met at 0800 on Saturday. This was the semester I turned 20 and could legally drink beer in Moscow, Idaho, 8 miles from campus. So I attended The first and last class, and took the midterm. All of the program exercises ran correctly the first time I submitted them, although I did make several mistakes at the key punch. I got a D -- something about attendance. I can remember sitting in the machine room, lit my the glow of the vacuum tubes, at the 709 console entering small programs on the M-Q (multiplier-quotient) register keys and then watching the lights on the console blink. I think the cycloids machine was about 1.8 milliseconds. Quick, no? I went on to spend most of the years following until my retirement in 2004 in software, I think rather successfully. It is good top remember the early days. No os, booting the machine from a bootstrap loader on a single binary card to get the "FORMON" loaded from tape at 800 BPI. Oh, the other stories we old crotches could tell. dlg > -- > > John (john@xxxxxxxxxxx) > > -- > fedora-list mailing list > fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list
