29 Mar
1999
29 Mar
'99
11:01 p.m.
On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Sellam Ismail wrote:
Does anyone know what the function of an IBM 557 Alphabetic Interpreter
is/was?
Looks like a punch card sorter of some sort.
From: 'Business Data Processing' E. Awad (1968)...
[picture] caption: The IBM 557 interpreter
[text] "Interpreting is converting machine language into human
language. (...) A distinction can be made easily between printing by
interpreter and that done by key punch. The latter machine prints on
the top of the same column that contains the hole(s), whereas the
interpreter merely prints across the face of the card" [end text]
So what you seem to have is a Big Box that takes un-marked punch
cards and prints out their contents just below their twelve-edge.
Do you actually *own* this, or just know where one is? Tres Cool!
Cheerz
John