[SIGCIS-Members] Call for "paper"

Wed Sep 2 06:10:36 PDT 2015

Stefan, you might be missing a relevant aspect of early hand-written programs by excluding flowcharts.  They weren't just for planning, but also for encoding programs in a form isomorphic to the actual code.

In many large organizations, programmers would create very detailed and explicit flowcharts by hand, essentially writing the entire program in a rich, formal, graphical language.  Then they would pass flowcharts on to "coders" who would transcribe the operations into a programming language (without necessarily understanding the algorithms).  It was a direct translation.  From there the coding forms would go to staff who keypunched the program onto cards or, occasionally, paper tape.

Mike is correct that many others besides kids wrote programs by hand.  This was necessary when access to computers and keypunches was limited.  Students, adult hobbyists, researchers, and many others did this.  (I might still have some old handwritten code myself.)  Students especially had to have their programs ready to keypunch when it was their turn to sit down and type.  No thinking at the keypunch!

Another setting in which this was common was in universities that did not yet have computers.  A colleague from India took an entire Fortran programming class with no computer available (this was decades ago, of course).  Students wrote programs by hand and turned them in to the professor, who "ran" them in his head.

(BTW, calling programmers "coders," as is common nowadays, still grates on the nerves of some of us old timers.  A coder was someone who transcribed program logic without understanding it.)

Sounds like a very interesting book!

Bill

________________________________
From: Members [members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org] on behalf of "Dr. Stefan Höltgen" [stefan.hoeltgen at hu-berlin.de]
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 8:20 AM
To: Mike Willegal; members at lists.sigcis.org
Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Call for "paper"

Hi Mike,

flow charts I wanted to exclude since they are no symbolic but iconic forms of algorithmic writing and „programmer thinking“.

Thanks for the hint with the „coding forms“. In fact I did not want to forget them since many single-board learning computers used them as sheets for the programmer to write down his/her code. So I would be very happy to get such forms (oder or newer ones) too for the book.

best,
Stefan

Am 02.09.2015 um 14:09 schrieb Mike Willegal <mike at willegal.net<mailto:mike at willegal.net>>:

Hi Stefan,

I guess I’d respectfully disagree with the premise that hand coding was mainly used by kids without computers in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  Before the widespread availability of full screen, computer based text editors with cursor control, such as VI and EMACS, I’d say, a fair percentage, if not a majority of professionals used coding forms to write the initial drafts of their programs.  Some shops were card based, the coding forms were handed to clerks, who operated the card punches.  Do a google image search for “coding form” and you’ll find quite an array of examples, mostly for machines and languages that kids didn’t have access to, or any particular interest in.

One other tool of the “old days" that has fallen into relative disuse is the flow chart.   I haven’t seen very many of those drawn up to describe program flow in recent years, even though there still is great value in doing it.

regards,
Mike Willegal

On Sep 2, 2015, at 7:27 AM, Melanie Swalwell <melanie.swalwell at flinders.edu.au<mailto:melanie.swalwell at flinders.edu.au>> wrote:

Hi Stefan,

What a fabulous project!

I have two people I can put you in touch with locally in Australia who – while schoolboys -- wrote their code for microcomputer games on paper (often at school) before being able to enter it in the computer.  One actually sold (signed) paper copies of his code, which he’d run off roneo’ed copies of (after sneaking into the school principal’s office to use the copier…)

I will see what I can sort out for you.

Regards,

Melanie

From: Members [mailto:members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org] On Behalf Of "Dr. Stefan Höltgen"
Sent: Wednesday, 2 September 2015 6:03 PM
To: members at lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members at lists.sigcis.org>
Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Call for "paper"

Dear SIGCIS members,

I am planning to publish a book on handwritten programming code (means: written without computer, only with pencil and paper). That kind of „programming“ has been manily practiced in the 1970s and 1980s when kids without own computers planned their programs on paper to type them in later (at school, in computer ware houses, at friends, …) But that kind of programming is as old as programmable computers themselves, I guess. Every programmer surely had written short algorithms as drafts by hand or had corrected and commented program printouts by hand. Handwritten code, I think, today is almost extinguished. So the book will show today’s computational scientist that special kind of programming history and will also give a slightly insight into how the programmer anticipates the work of machine works while he is trying to think as the machine that runs his/her code.

The book will show such handwritten codes and code fragments (of any programming language) as scans, gives informations about the author, date of origin, programming language, computer where it was typed in (if so) and a about the planned function of the code or fragment. If the system and language are available and the code is readable and (sort of) complete, it will be tested and a screenshot of the output will addet to the text.

The book will be published in 2017 and there will be an exhibition at the „Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum“ in Paderborn (Germany) - one of the largest computer museums in Europe.

WHAT DO I NEED FROM YOU?

1. Original paper* with handwritten code or reprintable scans of such papers (300 dpi, color, TIFF, with the edges of the paper in the picture).
2. A permission to reprint that code from its author.
3. Informations about the origin of the paper (author name, date of origin, programming language and system, if remembered: anecdotes about that code and its genesis)

* If you want your paper to be shown at the exhibition at „Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum“ in 2017 you have to send in the original.

Before you send in anything please contact me (se below)!

Sent-in original papers will be scanned and kept safely until they are not needed anymore and than will be returened to the owner. Shipping fees from the sender to me can’t be refunded, since the project is completely unsalaried. But those who’s code has been reprinted or shown at the exhibition will get a free copy of the book.

The book with the working title „Papier-Maschinen“ (engl. „Paper Machines“) will be published in summer 2017 in our series „Computerarchäologie“ (engl.: „Computer Archaeology“) at the German „Projekt-Verlag").

If you need more informations do not hesitate to contact me at: email at computerarchaeologie.de<mailto:email at computerarchaeologie.de> or visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/computerarchaeologie

I would appreciate it if you would spread my call for „paper“!

thanks,
Stefan Hoeltgen
---
Dr. Stefan Höltgen
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Institut für Musikwissenschaft und Medienwissenschaft
Fachgebiet Medienwissenschaft
Zimmer 2.33
Georgenstraße 47
D-10117 Berlin

Studienfachberater für Medienwissenschaft

Telefon: (+49) (0)30 2093-66-185
Telefax: (+49) (0)30 2093-66-181 (Sekretariat)
Mobil: (+49) (0)173 9025982

E-Mail: stefan.hoeltgen at hu-berlin.de<mailto:stefan.hoeltgen at hu-berlin.de>
Web: http://u.hu-berlin.de/hoeltgen

Sprechstunde: Mittwochs, 13-14 Uhr

_______________________________________________
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

_______________________________________________
This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://sigcis.org>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Stefan Höltgen
---
Dr. Stefan Höltgen
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Institut für Musikwissenschaft und Medienwissenschaft
Fachgebiet Medienwissenschaft
Zimmer 2.33
Georgenstraße 47
D-10117 Berlin

Studienfachberater für Medienwissenschaft

Telefon: (+49) (0)30 2093-66-185
Telefax: (+49) (0)30 2093-66-181 (Sekretariat)
Mobil: (+49) (0)173 9025982

E-Mail: stefan.hoeltgen at hu-berlin.de<mailto:stefan.hoeltgen at hu-berlin.de>
Web: http://u.hu-berlin.de/hoeltgen

Sprechstunde: Mittwochs, 13-14 Uhr