[Tutor] How do I print built in functions [Useless Python / simplifying helpdesk.py]

[J or M Montgomery]

Bob Gailer wrote:
> Around 1970 (year, not address) I was introduced to DEC's PDP8, the 
> "first" "minicomputer". When I wanted to use it, I had to enter about 20 
> instructions into memory. Each memory word was 12 bits; there were 12 
> front panel toggle switches. One would flip them into a certain bit 
> pattern, then "deposit" into memory, repeat till the "bin loader" 
> program was in memory; place some punched paper tape into the tape 
> reader, and hit the start button. The paper tape contained the "rim 
> loader" which prepared the computer to read a program. It's interesting 
> to compare these steps with the boot program now resident in ROM that 
> reads the boot program from magnetic media.
> 
In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "This is deja vue all over again".

I moved from IBM 360's and using Fortran and PL1, during the late 
sixties to using a PDP8e in our lab.

We had a delux version with 8k of those 12 bit words for memory size 
instead of the standard 4k. Yes we toggled in our bootstrap code and 
then rigged a punched paper tape in the teletype to read in data or 
programs. Not much could be accomplished without using assembler 
language. PAL-3 was reasonably easy to learn.

Hard disks - what are those?
Floppy disks - what are they?

Tape backup - yep, on a tape which I guess was 1/2 inch wide. It looked 
about like current video tape.

Thanks Bob for triggering those memories.

A relic from the days of iron-core memory.

John Montgomery