Re: ALTER, ASSIGN and labels-as-values

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
>

On Thu, 30 May 2024 10:15:54 +0200, Terje Mathisen wrote:
>

This was using hand-punched cards, writing FORTRAN 2 code with the
Hollerith text constants so you had to count very carefully:
 
    FORMAT 27HTHIS IS A VERY LONG TEXT STRING...

>
Hey, did you not notice the columns were numbered? So all you had to do
to determine the length of the string was subtract column numbers?

 
Aside the fact that you needed to know the length _before_ you punched
the rest of the "very long text string" on the card?  Or are you
suggesting that coding forms (which were used for third party punching)
were a prerequisite for punching program cards?