Programming Language History [was Re: F/OS & the blind ]

[William D Ricker]

Jeff Kinz wrote:
> Quiz answer:
> First Machine mentioned is the "704". 

Correct per memory and Google.

If no one spelled it out yet the memory Lisp has of the IBM 704
machine code are the operations on 'cons' cells 'car' and 'cdr'.

CAR=Contents of Address   Register.
CDR=Contents of Decrement Register.

> Not the 7404 that I was thinking.
> (If there even ever was a "7404" for that matter.)

Google reports the IBM 7404 was the Graphical Output option for the
7090/7094 family (tranistor version of 709, piloted by "Stretch"
7030).  So 7404's would likely have been around MIT in the early days
of Lisp too, as the CTSS system was a 7090 (progenitor of Multics
and thesis to ITS's antithesis, the synthesis of which was Emacs).
http://www.multicians.org/thvv/7094.html


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