> On Mar 2, 2026, at 1:53 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 2 Mar 2026, Christian Corti via cctalk wrote:
>> Of course, have you had a look at the IBM 1130 for example?
>> The entire system is delivered on punch cards. We have at least two copies
>> (original IBM) of it. The monitor, the assembler, FORTRAN, but also COBOL,
>> ALGOL and APL. A couple thousand cards in total.
>> It's all there, on cards, and archived, on the net. The cards are stored in
>> special punch card drawers and cabinets.
>
> ? " A couple thousand cards in total.
> " It's all there, on cards, and archived, on the net. The cards are " stored
> in special punch card drawers and cabinets.
> Really only a thousand cards?
That's over 100 kB of data, if it's something like a 360 object deck which is a
bit of header plus binary data (byte per column).
> If it is only a couple thousand cards, why drawerS and cabinetS?
> Two thousand cards is one box.
Yes, but a box is only reasonably secure if it's entirely full. A cabinet
(with a sliding retainer) will hold a deck that isn't exactly 2000 cards.
paul
