Long before 8-bit computers, I had 15 minutes of access every Saturday to an IBM 1620, so I had a week to write (and erase) code (initially FORTRAN II, later 1620 ASM) before getting anywhere near the computer. When I got to the machine room I had to punch the code on cards using an IBM 026 card punch. For my larger FORTRAN programs, it took most of the 15 minutes to compile them and punch an object deck, which I couldn't run until the next week.
1) In the Saturday morning programming class that I attended just to get the computer time, an experienced student had a card deck and a brand new student asked to see it, and the former unfortunately agreed. The new student had no idea that the order mattered and scattered them all over his desk.
2) I rode a Honda 90 over Beverly Glen to attend UCLA. One morning I had a 300 card PL/1 program bungied onto the back of the motorcycle. The car in front of me slammed on its brakes when the signal turned at Beverly Glen and Sunset, I rear-ended them, and my deck went flying all over the road.
[−]curiousObject · 2026-11-15 Sun 13:08 UTC ·
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Did the cards not have some sort of index system so they could be automatically sorted back into the correct order? Holes on the edge maybe?
[−]KineticLensman · 2026-11-15 Sun 14:35 UTC ·
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Another useful technique was to draw a line diagonally across the top of the deck with a marker pen or similar. Helped a bit as a first pass for any post-drop sorting
I think John Romero had a similar story in one of the books about pre-Id days. I suspect dropping a deck of cards was an experience almost everyone had!
1) In the Saturday morning programming class that I attended just to get the computer time, an experienced student had a card deck and a brand new student asked to see it, and the former unfortunately agreed. The new student had no idea that the order mattered and scattered them all over his desk.
2) I rode a Honda 90 over Beverly Glen to attend UCLA. One morning I had a 300 card PL/1 program bungied onto the back of the motorcycle. The car in front of me slammed on its brakes when the signal turned at Beverly Glen and Sunset, I rear-ended them, and my deck went flying all over the road.