C:\ANCIENT> dir
Ancient History
1940s–1979 · newest first
Before the cold boot: vacuum tubes, punch cards, mainframes, and the ideas everything since still runs on.
- System R and SEQUEL: Specify the Answer, Compare the RoutesThe requested rows stay the same while the database chooses a route.7 min
- Smalltalk-72: Ask the Receiver What a Message MeansThe same request can have a different meaning for a different receiver.7 min
- Unix: Small Pieces Need Clear ConnectionsA name, a stored object and a stream each carry different promises.7 min
- NLS: A Document Is Larger Than Its Current ViewHide the detail without losing the document that contains it.7 min
- Dartmouth BASIC: A Short Program Can Still Have StateA loop repeats instructions while its variables carry progress forward.7 min
- Sketchpad: Tell the Drawing What Must Stay TrueA drawing can preserve a relationship while its coordinates change.7 min
- Spacewar!: The Ship Remembers Its MomentumA spaceship's direction and its motion are different parts of the game.7 min
- CTSS: Save Your Place, Let Somebody Else WorkA shared processor could pause a program without forgetting its progress.7 min
- COBOL: Describe the Record Before the ArithmeticA sequence of digits needed a field description to become a price.7 min
- LISP: The Shape of an ExpressionSymbols could be arranged into structures that a function could traverse.8 min
- FORTRAN: The Formula Was the Starting PointNumerical relationships could be written before the machine's detailed instruction sequence.7 min
- A-0: Let the Computer Arrange the RoutinesReusable routines still needed somebody to put the pieces together correctly.7 min
- Manchester Baby: The Instructions Were in MemoryChanging the computation could mean changing the contents of memory.7 min
13 file(s) · 92 min of reading · Ready.