Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: "Carlos E. R." Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.shell,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: [OT] Dead DEC Punch card times (was Re: Taking Speedy too seriously) Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2026 00:14:16 +0100 Lines: 31 Message-ID: References: <18dee4b6cab427fa$865$2574533$802601b3@news.usenetexpress.com> <11c8mg3$2e89e$2@kst.eternal-september.org> <_ZucnafJTvBFc3r3nZ2dnZfqnPGdnZ2d@giganews.com> <11c8rq9$1e6t$1@gal.iecc.com> <11c9ibo$2e740$1@dont-email.me> <11c9rph$2oln7$7@dont-email.me> <11ce4vn$85p2$2@dont-email.me> <11cg959$12d33$4@dont-email.me> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net kTb4QEZVuSCi82rTU+swxAZyrUH+Z2ZVSzQaqJ4wD8OF6L1NCy Cancel-Lock: sha1:erqM+6q1+fx8bUSUJBFBP/9HYpQ= sha256:oNkhMcQ0dAenkHNNCmPKXAyjayhhv3lwz8FuzK1/22g= User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Content-Language: en-GB In-Reply-To: <11cg959$12d33$4@dont-email.me> Xref: csiph.com comp.os.linux.misc:95141 comp.unix.shell:27279 alt.folklore.computers:236520 On 2026-11-04 22:47, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote: > On Wed, 4 Nov 2026 10:53:41 +0100, Carlos E. R. wrote: > >> On 2026-11-04 03:23, Janis Papanagnou wrote: >>> >>> On 2026-11-03 12:45, Carlos E. R. wrote: >>>> >>>> I know at least one guy working on IBM mainframes, and he tells me >>>> they are in high need of good assembler programmers. >>> >>> Wow! - I'd have thought that assembler programmers should meanwhile >>> be at "best" a niche, and systems programming with "C" (or >>> similar). >> >> They need speed that compilers can not achieve. > > The world’s fastest supercomputers run Linux. And that is mostly written > in C, with very little assembly language. Well, I know for a fact that this machine doesn't run any standard OS. I asked him. Also, the disks do not have a filesystem, either (I also asked). Of course most of the programmers work in some high level language, but there are certain critical operations that are optimized in assembler. I don't remember which, and obviously I'm not going to quote him breaking confidence. But if anyone is a good programmer in those machines, in assembler, they are hiring. -- Cheers, Carlos E.R. ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺.