On 29 Mar 99 at 21:48, Sellam Ismail wrote: It's been a long time, but IIRC these were relatively simple to wire the plug -board. The info for the top line was based on the top 3 holes on the cards representing alpha-groups A-I , J-R, and S-Z respectively eg: a column with a 0 and a 9 would be an "A", a 2 and 5 a "W" etc. This was also how the sorters were used to sort alphabetically. First we'd sort into the 3 groups and then by letter. you became quite proficient at it - buff the cards, slap them into the feeder, sort 0to2, pull them , buff them, sort by letter, and they would magically come up in order. What you could do now in the length of time it took to set the column sort wheel. I always have problems diferentiating between the definitions used in reference to computing. These were used for processing data, just like the newest Pentiums. A calculator basically counts the tics. 2x4 is 4 counted twice. That is what math processors do unless they have tables like the above alphabetical groups to act on.Simply a more sophisticated version. I used a machine called a statistical sorter which kept track of the holes punched to indicate a medical disorder, region , industry etc. for that particular card and based on the numerical data issued a report for the Prov of Ont. that year. Other than it being easier and faster, I don't see such a big difference in modern applications These were not typewriters or calculators but sophisticated business tools in their own right. The card punch, interpreter, sorter, collator, tape-drives ,etc. have their present day eqiuivalents in keyboards, files, disk drives , merge programs, printers ,etc. ciao larry lwalker(a)interlog.com