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Once the punch cards were created, they needed to be organized and fed into a card reader, which converted the physical holes into machine-readable binary data. The process required meticulous attention to detail, as even a slight misplacement could lead to incorrect execution by the computer.
Understanding Punch Cards: An Educational Dive
To grasp punch card programming, one must learn to read a punch card. Each card contains a grid corresponding to characters and commands. IBM developed a system called Extended Binary Coded Decimal (EBCD) to interpret these cards. For instance, in a sample punch card designed for FORTRAN programming, each hole's position represents a specific character in the code.