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The IBM 1401 compiles and runs FORTRAN II

CuriousMarc · demo · Watch on YouTube

History of computingRepair, teardowns & right to repair

What it is

CuriousMarc and colleagues at the Computer History Museum try to compile and run a FORTRAN II program on a 1959 IBM 1401. The machine has only 16k of memory and a CPU not meant for scientific work, so success is far from guaranteed.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Passed around in computing-history threads as a charming example of vintage hardware being coaxed into running FORTRAN.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2018, last 2021

What HN commenters said

  1. “Or them trying to get Fortran to compile on an IBM 1401 Mainframe dated 1959.”

    Getting Fortran to compile on a 1959 IBM 1401

    CaptArmchair, 2020-02 · Recommendation · in “Recovering Fossil Data on IBM 8” Floppies [video]”

  2. “A computer from 1959 (IBM 1401) at the Computer History Museum, compiling FORTRAN.”

    A 1959 IBM 1401 compiling FORTRAN at the Computer History Museum

    csense, 2020-04 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: What are some great posts or articles about history of computing?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: ibm 1401, fortran, computer history museum, punched cards, restoration

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