Re: Ah, the 'bad ol' days'

> Message: 18
> Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 14:08:25 -0800
> From: Alan Marconett KM6VV <KM6VV@...>
> Subject: Re: New CNC software rev finally done...
>
> John, Ballendo,
>
> You'll hear no language bashing from me! Any language is a good
> language, if used for and in the scope it was intended. Jon makes good
> points on the "safety" of Pascal, and better checking in C++. You CAN
> get a little wild in 'C'. One of my favorite cartoons shows a computer
> with a large hole blasted in the side, and another programmer observing
> it saying: "Yep, looks like a pointer error, all right!". And Ballendo,
> yes, I tend to remember the OLD BASIC's, Which ran on TTY's on timeshare
> systems, and the 4K BASIC's that first ran on the Altair. BASIC has
> certainly come a long way since then! At least I don't have to hand load
> the bootstrap loader for the BASIC paper tape!
>
> Alan

Well we certainly are showing our age aren't we --- Altair! I remember
teaching a freshman college course in BASIC with a room full of TTY's (used
to go home with a headache every night), we were more sophisticated and
bootstrapped off a big floppy (can remember the size exactly but it was
about 9" sq --- what was that one, before the 7 1/4"?) --- but the students
had to save their programs on paper tape. Ah the "bad ol' days" --- there is
nothing nostalgic for me about a room full of steel banging on paper and
splicing paper tape --- I'll take virtual "objects" with my programming ---
they're quieter. :-)

Ken