3 ms·

It wasn't invented for home computers, it was invented for line printer terminals, where "line numbers" and the ability to edit/insert that gave was a real impr

It wasn't invented for home computers, it was invented for line printer terminals, where "line numbers" and the ability to edit/insert that gave was a real improvement.

eternalban 4y ago
First lessons in extensibility were in BASIC, when the very young future software designer strategized line number increments.
- knuckleheadsmif 4y ago
  Anyone whoever programmed on punch cards always numbered them so the you could sort them if you ever dropped your deck. Strategic numbering was even more important then. Most of us preprogrammed the punch machines, via a punch card itself mounted to a drum, to help with the numbering.
  - greenbit 4y ago
    Don't forget to draw a diagonal line across the side of your card deck. Don't skimp and use a pencil, get a nice felt tip marker.
  - Gibbon1 4y ago
    My dad said guys he worked with back in the 1960's would have stacks of library routines on punch cards that they would assemble their programs from with a minimal amount of purpose written code. Once it was finished they run the stack through a duplicator that would also renumber the cards. Then they'd take the original deck and stick the library functions back in their library.
benj111 4y ago
I don't think that quite explains it though. It wasn't as if the idea of a screen editor hadn't occurred to them. So if that was the reason it was because of compatibility. There's probably also the issue of keeping the code text in memory, an issue when talking about the zx80 end of the /spectrum/
- Jtsummers 4y ago
  BASIC was from 1964, screen editors weren't a common thing at that point in history. Many of the implementations that made it into early home computers weren't too distantly altered from that original version.
  - benj111 4y ago
    I mean at the point when basic was being ported to home computers, thus the comment about backward compatibility.

It wasn't invented for home computers, it was invented for line printer terminals, where "line numbers" and the ability to edit/insert that gave was a real improvement.

eternalban 4y ago

First lessons in extensibility were in BASIC, when the very young future software designer strategized line number increments.

knuckleheadsmif 4y ago
Anyone whoever programmed on punch cards always numbered them so the you could sort them if you ever dropped your deck. Strategic numbering was even more important then. Most of us preprogrammed the punch machines, via a punch card itself mounted to a drum, to help with the numbering.
- greenbit 4y ago
  Don't forget to draw a diagonal line across the side of your card deck. Don't skimp and use a pencil, get a nice felt tip marker.
- Gibbon1 4y ago
  My dad said guys he worked with back in the 1960's would have stacks of library routines on punch cards that they would assemble their programs from with a minimal amount of purpose written code. Once it was finished they run the stack through a duplicator that would also renumber the cards. Then they'd take the original deck and stick the library functions back in their library.

benj111 4y ago

I don't think that quite explains it though. It wasn't as if the idea of a screen editor hadn't occurred to them. So if that was the reason it was because of compatibility. There's probably also the issue of keeping the code text in memory, an issue when talking about the zx80 end of the /spectrum/

Jtsummers 4y ago
BASIC was from 1964, screen editors weren't a common thing at that point in history. Many of the implementations that made it into early home computers weren't too distantly altered from that original version.
- benj111 4y ago
  I mean at the point when basic was being ported to home computers, thus the comment about backward compatibility.