Discussion of large systems

-------------Original Message: From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com> Subject: Re: Discussion of large systems No matter how you cut it, sorting on tape beat sorting cards on unit record equipment... Cheers, Chuck --------------Reply: Mind you, an 082/083 sorter with cards feeding across and dropping into their compartments is as much a part of the "old computer" image as spinning tape reels... And considering the cost of CPU time and the fact that input data was still on punched cards in most cases, it was usually more efficient and cost-effective to still sort the cards off-line and then copy/merge to/with tape. Ah, fond memories of carrying stacks of 5-6000 cards across the room to the collator (or, later, the high-speed card reader), not to mention the inevitable day when you bumped into someone and scattered half a megabyte of data across the data centre floor and under the machinery; now _that_'s fragmentation! m