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Precision Software Appli…tions Silver Collection 1
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Precision Software Applications Silver Collection Volume One (PSM) (1993).iso
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cobolfrm.exe
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COBOL.TXT
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Wrap
Text File
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1990-09-13
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2KB
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42 lines
COBOL wallpaper!
----------------
I thought all you converted mainframe programmers out there
might enjoy the irony of having this nostalgia piece up in the
background, as we zip around in the flashy environments of the
90's.
For those who can't think what this is for, there was a time,
Virginia, in the long, long ago, when programs were *written* on
paper, and then sent off to the keypunch department. Since
programs, unlike "normal" data, could contain weird characters
like parentheses and equals signs, there were special
instruction areas (at the top of the form) where you told the
keypunch operators what special card hole combination to punch
for each weird character. That's what IBM meant by a "graphic"
in those days. Also. you had to begin different parts of the
program statements in different parts of the line, hence the
attention paid to column numbering: woe betide you if you got
your Margin A and Margin B mixed up.
When you got back your big box of punched cards, you could write
out a job ticket and take them to the counter of the DP input
office to have them read in and compiled. You would get the
output the next day, or in a few hours if you wre really lucky.
Then you could write the corrections and have them punched up.
The more advanced places let you punch them yourself. Of course
you couldn't do anything on-line, since there was no on-line.
There were no screens, only card readers, card punches, and line
printers (1000 lines per minute but uppercase only).
When I get my color monitor back from the repair shop, I might
even do a form in that official bean-counter green color they
were always printed in. If I get any appreciative postcards or
anything I might even do an Assembler one, or a punch-card
design form, or a report layout sheet. . . Those were the
days!
John Bonavia
39 Bradford Street
Needham MA 02192