physical object
Identifier
2010.1.1
Description
University of Waterloo punched cards used to store data through the presence or absence of holes in predefined locations on the card. Each hole of a punch card is representative of one bit. Therefore these 72 column cards could potentially hold 648 bits. Punched cards could typically hold 80 characters: enough for a single line of code or data record.
Punched cards are also known as IBM cards or Hollerith cards. Initially, Herman Hollerith, the inventor of punched cards, designed the machine to assist tabulating census data. Back in 1890, it took the U.S Census Bureau eight years to hand-tabulate a decade-long census. However, using Hollerith's invention, which used electricity to record data gathered through punched holes, complex census tasks could be completed only in a year. Hollerith sold his invention to a company, which later became a part of IBM in 1924.
Related Term
Punched Cards (describes)
