From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: editor and word processor history (was: Re: RTF for emacs) Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 04:20:25 +0200 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Message-ID: <8738fsatxy.fsf@debian.uxu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1401416729 18752 80.91.229.3 (30 May 2014 02:25:29 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 02:25:29 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Fri May 30 04:25:19 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1WqCVT-0002Vd-5I for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 30 May 2014 04:25:19 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:51106 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1WqCVS-0002KZ-LL for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Thu, 29 May 2014 22:25:18 -0400 Original-Path: usenet.stanford.edu!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed3a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!news.stack.nl!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 52 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: SIvZRMPqRkkTHAHL6NkRuw.user.speranza.aioe.org Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.3 (gnu/linux) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Cancel-Lock: sha1:+0UWos78iwDNYl1+olWk0E3XeOk= Mail-Copies-To: never Original-Xref: usenet.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:205690 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:97960 Archived-At: Robert Thorpe writes: > Programs were typed in using keypunches which wrote > to punched cards or using devices that wrote to paper > tape. The program was then submitted as a stack of > cards or a tape to the sysadmins who ran the > computer. The computer would then "SPOOL" copying > the paper information to magnetic tape where it could > be accessed later. Once that happened the user could > do various things like edit the code, compile it and > so on. > > This meant there was a delay between the user's > information being sent and the program execution. > Often in that time errors could be found. In that > case the user could run an editor from a teletype and > fix the errors. Doing that wouldn't necessarily > require the teletype to print out each line of code > being changed. That's why in early editors there > were commands to print out lines of code, but things > could be done without them. > > This was all high technology compared to the early > days when everything submitted on cards was compiled > and executed without question. In those early days > there were no editors. Everything depended on > punched cards and there were special machines to deal > with them which were a partial substitute. (Even in > the 1970s most small IBM computers were only sold > with peripheral for reading and punching cards.) I suppose this would be a lot easier to understand if you could actually see (and touch) the machines. I have heard that in the US (Boston and San Francisco) there are computer museum, sometimes associated with the companies themselves. Perhaps I can steal some LEGO and build small models... But as for the delay between coding and execution, that sounds really relaxing - that way, you'd never be tempted to do shortcuts or do trial-and-error until it works. Of course you can program that way today as well but sometimes time and the volume of work just make you type and hit RET until it works, and that's always less satisfactory then when you understand everything 100%. -- underground experts united: http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573