[NLRS] Who's the computer programmer in the bunch?

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On Fri, 2006-06-30 at 18:59 -0500, Ford Peterson wrote:
> 
> 
> Scott wrote:
> 
> > I wrote my own logging program, but I'm running into a bit of a snag. 
> > It's written in qbasic.  I'm trying to dimension an array A$(x,y,z) and 
> > the largest number I can get to work for x is 99...so it can only log 
> > 100 calls (zero to 99) and then the subscript goes out of range.  After 
> > the June contest, it is inadequate to only be able to log (and 
> > automatically dupe check) 100 calls!  :)  Ideas???
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Scott N0EDV
> > Gotta Fly or Gonna Die
> 
> Scott,
> 
> Qbasic?  Wow!  That's ancient history.  Just finding somebody that knows what it is makes me nostalgic (just kidding of course).
> 
> Back when I was far less white haired, and a bit more nimble on my feet, I programmed a complete financial accounting system for what is now Wells Fargo using tools like that.  It networked up to 12 people to do the accounting for about 250 corporations in the chain of banks.  I used monster multi-dimensioned arrays all the time.  But I had a secret weapon.  Ooodles of time on a Fortune 500 payroll, and most importantly, a basic compiler.  In native mode, you ran out of memory.  In compiler mode, you just add more memory.  And of course, compiled, you end up with an executable.  We were doing multi-dimensioned arrays up to thousands of rows on 286 PCs with 640K of ram.
> 
> I actually have that compiler software here someplace.  It's no doubt on some 5-1/4" floppies (not a joke) but also copied on to one of the old original pentium PCs I have kept around for just this reason.  I gotta tell you though, booting one of those old P1 60MHz machines may take days of work.  I think you may be better off looking for another basic compiler, or write the code a different way.  I know I have lost the docs, only what's left of the gray cells in my head.  Unfortunately, many years of radio contesting has taken it's toll (kidding of course).  I'm only 50 but have been trying to kill off those Qbasic and Mbasic gray cells for quite a while.  5-1/4" floppies must go back to at least mid to late 1980s...
> 
> Ford-N0FP
> ford at cmgate.com
> 
I still try to use 5-1/4" floppies on occasion. Getting good drive is
getting harder. They were in use in the early 80s as the PC came along.
I still have my Apple II+ that came before PCs and uses 5-1/4" floppies.
I haven't tried to use it in a few years, its buried too deep to try.
I also have my CP/M computer with 8" floppies and some boxes of new 8"
floppy disks still shrink wrapped. I remember the first 8" floppy disk
was so soft my drives ate the surface before I got the BIOS to work for
CP/M.

Before I built my CP/M system, I built a school computer that uses a
cassette drive and it still runs. Its a candidate for the state
historical museum being the first computer built for elementary school
kids to use. My second computer was for a weather company, a Z80 with a
quarter mb of RAM that monitored a 1200 baud weather wire and let them
search thee saved data  (and it saved on what they told it to save) with
a terminal. It ran 18 years 24/7 with only 40 hours total down time. It
wore out two sets of back up batteries and I had to change them with
power up each time.
-- 
73, Jerry, K0CQ,
All content copyright Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer