punchcards
Vintage computer media
Punchcards are stiff paper cards that store data through patterns of holes punched at specific positions.
Each hole (or its absence) represents information that machines can read.
They were the dominant data storage medium for early computing, from the 1890 U.S. census through the 1970s: My grandfather programmed on punchcards.
The term now evokes obsolete technology.
Also spelled as two words.
Punch card computing inventor
- keypunchDevice perforating data cards
- tabulatingRecording data systematically
- batch processingRunning queued jobs automatically
- mainframeLarge centralized computer system
IBM · UNIVAC · data entry · chad · perforation · stacker · verifier
Old valued collectible
- relicPreserved ancient object
- vintageQuality from past eras
- bygoneOf earlier times
- obsoleteNo longer in use
census · player piano · textile industry · precursor · museum piece · superseded · deprecated · legacy system
Four right angles
- manilaYellowish-brown hemp material
- hanging chadIncompletely detached ballot perforation
- notchedHaving V-shaped cuts
- slottedHaving narrow openings
Elderly business-oriented programming language
- compileCollect into unified whole
- debugRemove software errors
- flowchartDiagram showing workflow steps
- subroutinePackaged callable code segment
Hollerith
Punch card computing inventor
- keypunchDevice perforating data cards
- tabulatingRecording data systematically
- batch processingRunning queued jobs automatically
mainframe · IBM · UNIVAC · data entry · chad · perforation · stacker · verifier
antique
Old valued collectible
obsolete · census · player piano · textile industry · precursor · museum piece · superseded · deprecated · legacy system · archival
rectangular
Four right angles
- manilaYellowish-brown hemp material
- hanging chadIncompletely detached ballot perforation
- notchedHaving V-shaped cuts
COBOL
Elderly business-oriented programming language
punchcardscloud storage
Online data preservation service
solid-state drives · flash memory · SSD · digital storage · neural networks
punch, card, punched, punching, punches, cards, carded, carding