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Is this comparison based solely on the idea that both of these tools are outdated? If you have something deeper in mind, could you fill in some details of this

Is this comparison based solely on the idea that both of these tools are outdated? If you have something deeper in mind, could you fill in some details of this metaphor? I haven't seen Smith charts before, but a cursory read of TFA doesn't really evoke punch cards.

segfaultbuserr 7y ago
Smith Chart is both a visualization tool (as a chart) and a calculation tool (as a nomogram), you can use a printed Smith Chart to do RF-related calculations (impedance matching, return loss, etc) with a ruler and compass on a graph paper, pretty much like using a slide rule to calculate logarithm and trigonometry. I think it's why the OP compared it to a punch card. It's true that today it's rarely used as a calculation tool, but it's still useful as a visualization. I don't think it's obsolete like punch cards.