[gmueckl]

Early versions of Fortran also had a fixed column layout, although the columns were different. The only commonality thst I can find right now is ignoring columns 73 to 80 to make space for card sequence numbers.

I never wrote a program on punch cards, but I'd definitely drop card stacks accidentally or get them into a jumble somehow. Having numbered cards and a card sorting machine (radix sort in hardware!) would be extremely helpful then.

[pklausler]

Old-timer tip: take a marker and draw a diagonal line across the top of your card deck, from the column 1 left side edge of the first card to the column 80 right side edge of the last card. When you drop the deck, just reassemble the line.

[dmoy]

Which sorting algorithm do you use when reassembling? Does it work well with "eyeball it and stick it near correct-ish spot and then fiddle with it later"?

[sgarland]

Depends how much bleed your paper has with your marker, but in general it’s quite accurate to eyeball it. I’ve never used it on punch cards, but I have for large documents.