Modern programmers can be called minions. At their service are the most powerful development environments, many programming languages. And just 30 years ago, scientists and lone enthusiasts wrote programs even on calculators.
Beware, there are a lot of photos under the cut!
In the mid-80s, the state made a lot of efforts to popularize information technology. Scientific articles were published, entire sections devoted to IT topics appeared in magazines. For professionals (who at that time were mostly scientists), the USSR Academy of Sciences published the Programming magazine. Don't forget about the fans. For example, in the magazine "Technology for Youth" a column "Man and Computer" appeared, which was devoted to explaining new terms and reviewing new devices. Advice on fighting viruses, using media, etc. was also published there.
In an effort to speed up the integration of computer technology into the daily life of the state, the authorities did not make any special distinctions between women and men. Thus, the Rabotnitsa magazine (circulation ~15 million) urged women to master the computer on an equal basis with men, and also to teach this science to their daughters. In September 1986, a little girl appeared on the cover of the publication in front of the monitor.
Although the computer was quite expensive, it was really possible to assemble it from parts bought on the radio market. Therefore, simple articles about computers and programming appeared even in Murzilka!
Such popularization of computer devices sometimes led to incidents. For example, in the newspaper "Trud" in 1987, an article appeared about the enterprising head of the automated control system of a cement plant, who took out parts for 6 rubles in order to assemble a personal computer at home. At that time, a small apartment in Moscow cost six thousand rubles, although the VAZ-000 cost even more - 2106 rubles.
The topic of amateur programming has been repeatedly raised on the pages of a popular scientific publication, such as Science and Life (circulation - 3 million). Since 1985, articles have been published there as part of the "School of a Beginner Programmer" cycle. In these articles, the reader was taught the basics of creating programs for calculators. Now it may seem surprising, but at that time programming was called an art. How different this approach is from what is often seen today» code!
To immerse yourself in the lamp atmosphere of programming of the late 80s, we bring to your attention scans from a miraculously preserved by one of the employees journal "Science and Life" for 11.1988. This is lesson number 22 of the notorious "School of a novice programmer."
As they say, read and penetrate
A slightly more readable version is in . If you want to get even more information about programming on calculators, then .
What do they have?
While amateur programming was being developed in the USSR, forecasts for the future were made in the USA. So, Apple held an idea contest about what computers would be like in 2000. The competition was won by a group of students from the University of Illinois. What they suggested is described in a note from the journal "Science and Life" from 1988. Her more found but that doesn't make it any less interesting, does it?
It is even interesting, how many people can now write a program using the limited power of a microcalculator? If you have saved successful examples or you yourself tried to write something similar, share in the comments.
Source: habr.com
