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How I coded in 1985

blog.jgc.org

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Re: How I coded in 1985

#11

Post by pinaceae »

edw519 wrote: post #10
pinaceae wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but isn't it questionable that you're (seemingly) writing the same stuff, from scratch, for 28 years now? shouldn't there be a work order processing standard solution for aerospace by now? like an engineer re-inventing the process to build bricks anytime a new building is requested. industry observation, not personal.

I'm not writing the same stuff. I've written over a thousand different custom applications using the same technology . That was my point. This environment is so tried and true and so effective, it still kicks ass after 28 years. Pretty amazing when you think about how much has changed. shouldn't there be a work order processing standard solution for aerospace by now? I'm sure there is. Just like there are blog, websi…

so how do you keep trying new environments and after validating them return to your preferred one?

asking cause 28 years is an eternity in regards of IT - or at least that's what we hear day in, day out.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#12

Post by seanmcdirmid »

treerex wrote: post #9

I was in high school in 1985 and our computer club built a Heathkit HERO-1, which had a 6808 processor and also had to be programmed through the hex keypad. After a few months of hand writing machine code and typing the opcodes into machine, I wrote a simple assembler on the Apple //e that would then download the assembled programs to the robot through the RS-232 interface. So much fun.

My dad had one of those. So cool, I enjoyed keying in "programs" on the head keypad to make it move and speak (I was around 9 or 10); I would have loved your tool (if I could get it for the Osbourne we had then...).

Re: How I coded in 1985

#13

Post by lucb1e »

Let's put the code to text and test if it runs?

I've made a start, but it takes a little longer than I'd thought (handwriting is often hard to read). Let's do some crowdsourcing?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/192TW6ghnmMFnVaNvIe98aqTG...

Edit (+12mins): I see lots of people viewing, but not a single edit over the past 10 minutes.

Edit (+60mins): One other anonymous user helped at last and the document is complete, but didn't leave his username in the contributors list yet. Anyway, thanks!

Now the big question is how to run this. If you have any idea how to run it, let us know!

Re: How I coded in 1985

#14

Post by lake99 »

I did my bachelors (in India) in the mid-90s, and we all coded this way in our 8085 labs. Many of us even did final-year projects on similar-looking 8085 kits.

Given that such kits are still sold [1] in India, I guess quite a few engineering students still learn to code like that.

My bosses, though, had all worked on punched cards.

[1]: http://www.dynalogindia.com/products/education-solutions/808...

Re: How I coded in 1985

#15

Post by jgrahamc »

lucb1e wrote: post #13

Let's put the code to text and test if it runs? I've made a start, but it takes a little longer than I'd thought (handwriting is often hard to read). Let's do some crowdsourcing? https://docs.google.com/document/d/192TW6ghnmMFnVaNvIe98aqTG... Edit (+12mins): I see lots of people viewing, but not a single edit over the past 10 minutes. Edit (+60mins): One other anonymous user helped at last and the document is complet…

Will accept pull requests.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#16

Post by ericssmith »

I had a KIM-1 in the late seventies and for several years I would run into other people who used one, but 1985 seems really late for programming on one of these. For me, the KIM-1 was my first experience with programming and a computer of any sort. It influenced my taste for low-level concepts, not only through x86 assembly programming for graphics in the 90s but much later in the lambda calculus and combinatory logic. I'm tickled that the KIM-1 is seeing such a resurgence of interest.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#17

Post by bgruber »

one of the good things about a formal CS education (well, mine anyhow) is that they force you to do things like write in assembly. obviously there's far less immediate practical application these days, but the exercise is definitely valuable, and probably not something I would have done voluntarily. Actually, it feels like something I would have thought sounded cool, tried, and then given up on when it got annoying.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#18

Post by zerohp »

smoyer wrote: post #6

This brings back a lot of memories ... Hand-compiling code for a COSMAC ELF ( http://www.cosmacelf.com/docs.htm ) and punching it into memory on a hex keyboard (the original had a switch for each bit and 4 push-buttons for load, run, etc). By the time I was coding for 6502 and 8088 processors (still in assembly language - I was after all an embedded engineer), I had assemblers and an 80-column by 43-line text editor.…

Computer Engineering still offers this experience. It's the main reason I picked this major when I returned to school after many years as a programmer. Most of the graduates from here go on to software development. The low level experience makes them well suited to work on embedded systems, device drivers, and operating systems.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#19

Post by jgrahamc »

ericssmith wrote: post #16

I had a KIM-1 in the late seventies and for several years I would run into other people who used one, but 1985 seems really late for programming on one of these. For me, the KIM-1 was my first experience with programming and a computer of any sort. It influenced my taste for low-level concepts, not only through x86 assembly programming for graphics in the 90s but much later in the lambda calculus and combinatory logi…

It was late to be programming one but it was (a) what was available where I was and (b) it had good I/O for the interfacing.

Re: How I coded in 1985

#20

Post by bluedino »

pinaceae wrote: post #8
edw519 wrote: post #5

That headline got me to thinking... Date: Monday, April 29, 1985 Age: 29 Location: Santa Ana, California. Company: electronics manufacturer setup: dumb black & green 24x80 14" CRT terminal Hardware: Honeywell mini OS: Honeywell proprietary DBMS: Pick (Ultimate Flavor) Language: BASIC App: Work Order Processing (I wrote from scratch.) Date: Monday, April 29, 2013 Age: 57 Location: Miami, Florida Company: aerospace man…

but isn't it questionable that you're (seemingly) writing the same stuff, from scratch, for 28 years now? shouldn't there be a work order processing standard solution for aerospace by now? like an engineer re-inventing the process to build bricks anytime a new building is requested. industry observation, not personal.

The aerospace industry is a license to print money for any vendor involved.
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