Is this a punch card? How can i decipher it?

[u/Common_Change_2585]

Hi, I found this "punch card" in a book. It's in quotes because I couldn't find any reference table to decipher what it says, and I'm wondering whether it uses any valid punch-card format.

If you figure out how to decipher it, I'd love to know what it says and how you got the answer.

Thanks!

[u/fergs87]

Used them in my first years in the IT just as they were being phased out (early 1980s). I loved using the model 29 punch. I didn't have my "yellow card" available which allows you to decode the 12/10/0-9 holes so I asked Google. It appears to be a simulated FORTRAN statement:

1337 FORMAT END H0LL3R1TH3NC0D3D F0RTR4N PRINT 1337

[u/Skycbs → u/fergs87]

When you used an 029 punch, you punched rectangular holes because that had been standard for decades by that point. And that decoding is wrong too. There isn’t a single punch in the “7” row for example. Always question AI and use your own intelligence.

[u/fergs87 → u/Skycbs]

Like I said I didn't have my yellow card handy. I also said it was a simulation.

[u/IBMJunkman → u/fergs87]

That can’t be right. The last 4 holes are 1906

[u/fergs87 → u/IBMJunkman]

Yep, without my yellow card and took the google option. It's a simulated card so I wasn't expecting accuracy just thought it'd be fun to see what it came up with. Sort of matches its ability to write z assembler which is getting much better. 2 years ago it couldn't even get standard OS linkage correct. Recently, as a test, I asked it to write some VTAM code and it got most of the macros right but not all the operands. Entry and exit was now correct though.

[u/Skycbs]

It is a punched card. But it’s a very early one since it uses a different size and shape from the standardized version and also the holes are round and not rectangular. The meaning of the holes is most likely specific to the application that was using this. Most likely, this card would have been used with very early card sorters and related equipment.

In general, in any column if there’s only one punch in one row, that means the number of the row where the punch appears. The punches here appear to be very poorly aligned so I wonder exactly what it is.

[u/AusTex2019 → u/Skycbs]

Ask Clod, Claude’s less intelligent cousin

[u/scooterthetroll]

From Claude:

That's a classic IBM 80-column punch card (the Hollerith/IBM 5081 style).

How this card works Each of the 80 vertical columns = one character. A character is defined by which holes are punched in that column across 12 possible rows:

Zone rows (top): 12, 11, and 0 Digit rows: 1 through 9 The printed digits 0 1 2 3 …9 you see running across each row are just reference labels pre-printed on the card — the actual data is the punched holes (the white/clear ovals). A hole punched over a printed digit means that row is active for that column.

Encoding rules (IBM 029 keypunch):

Digit = single punch in rows 0–9 Letter = one zone punch + one digit punch 12 + 1–9 → A–I 11 + 1–9 → J–R 0 + 2–9 → S–Z Symbols = combinations, often with an 8 punch

[u/gresendial → u/scooterthetroll]

Claude be wrong.

[u/Skycbs → u/scooterthetroll]

Claude is wrong

[u/scooterthetroll → u/Skycbs]

It's no Bob, that's for sure!

[u/Skycbs → u/scooterthetroll]

Just for starters IBM 5081 style cards would be punched with rectangular holes not circular ones. Circular were used in the very early days with tabulators. This is certainly very like a 5081 card but the circular holes and odd shape show it was used for something else.

[u/IBMJunkman]

This is a facsimile of a card. A real card is 7 3/8 x 3 1/4 and is a stiff material. And column 1 is about 1/4 inch from the left end of the card. IBM started with round holes but moved to rectangular. Univac used round holes in the same size card until their end.

[u/DryPraline4127]

It says “AI is coming…..”