Timeline for Why were programs entered on punch cards instead of paper tapes?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
4 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2021 at 18:03 | comment | added | rcgldr | A company I worked for in 1973 used a 600 character per second photo-electric paper tape reader from rolls of paper tape from a bin (no spool or hub was used). It spit out the paper tape at 5 feet per second into a pyramid shaped pile. We then wound the tape back into roll shape using high speed electric winders that wound the paper tape around a circular set of pins (so the roll could easily be removed after winding). Tape snags were rare, and I don't recall a single incident where tape was damaged by rewinding, but torn tape could be repaired using perforated scotch tape. | |
| Apr 13, 2021 at 7:00 | comment | added | hughk | Paper tape can and was used from spools. However they weren't always so easy to roll up again after reading and were easily damaged. A disadvantage for something you might want to read many times like program code. Fan fold would wiz through the reader, refolding after processing so it was easy to reuse. They were also surprisingly compact, as you can see here. | |
| Apr 12, 2021 at 16:52 | comment | added | Omar and Lorraine | Why would you need to rewind a fanfolded paper tape | |
| Apr 12, 2021 at 16:09 | history | answered | hughk | CC BY-SA 4.0 |