this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2024
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[–] [email protected] 49 points 2 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, those punch cards programs had a lot of bugs that we only found years later because our tools made it easier to catch them.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

"it works as long as you don't fuck it up" has always been a strong programming mentality.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago

It works on my machine… the only one we’re all using

[–] [email protected] 48 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Didn't most of those programmers from the 60s and 70s have like, Master's degrees in mathematics? Computers were massive, expensive machines that were used largely by universities and research facilities - you definitely couldn't buy your own and teach yourself how to program it like you can now.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Yes, this is true. My mom learned programming in the 60s, and it was a completely different beast.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Dom Eyles knew fuck all about computers and mathematics but responded to a job offer at MIT and wrote a program that guided the lander to the moon.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

His Wikipedia page says he had a BSc in mathematics from Boston University, unless this is a different guy.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

this is vewy mean!! :<

i know how to write propper pwogwams, oki!?

yeah, i might not punch my code into cards and i might need a compiler and interpreter, but i can make the computer say hello world in the console window as well!!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah well good luck writing hello world in html by punching holes in cardboard

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago