Wang Programmable Calculator 160 Steps Punch Card

Overview

The Wang programmable calculator 160 steps punch card was introduced by Wang Laboratories in the mid-20th century. It was designed for businesses and scientific applications that required repetitive calculations. The calculator featured a 10-digit display and could perform basic arithmetic operations, as well as more advanced functions like square roots and logarithms.

The key innovation of this calculator was its ability to store and execute programs from punch cards. Each punch card could hold up to 160 steps of programming, allowing for complex sequences of operations to be performed automatically. This made the calculator particularly useful for tasks like payroll calculations, inventory management, and scientific computations.

Programming the Calculator

Programming the Wang programmable calculator required a basic understanding of the calculator's instruction set and the ability to translate a problem into a sequence of operations. The calculator used a simple programming language that included commands for arithmetic operations, conditional branching, and input/output operations.

To program the calculator, users would write their program on paper, then translate it into the calculator's instruction set. The program would then be entered into the calculator's memory using the keypad. Once the program was entered, it could be executed by pressing the "RUN" key.

Using the Punch Card

The punch card was a key component of the Wang programmable calculator. Each punch card could store up to 160 steps of programming, allowing for complex sequences of operations to be performed automatically. The punch card was made of paper with holes punched in specific patterns to represent the program instructions.

To use the punch card, users would first program the calculator as described above. Once the program was entered, it could be stored on a punch card by pressing the "PUNCH" key. The calculator would then read the program from the punch card and execute it automatically.

Examples

Here are a few examples of programs that could be written for the Wang programmable calculator 160 steps punch card:

Example 1: Simple Addition Program

IN A
IN B
ADD A, B
OUT A
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This program prompts the user to input two numbers, adds them together, and then displays the result.

Example 2: Factorial Calculation

IN N
STO 1, N
STO 2, 1
LOOP: MUL 2, N
SUB N, 1
STO 1, N
BZ N, END
BR LOOP
END: OUT 2
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This program calculates the factorial of a number entered by the user. The program uses a loop to multiply the number by each integer from 1 to the number itself.

Example 3: Payroll Calculation

IN HOURS
IN RATE
MUL HOURS, RATE
STO 1, HOURS
IN TAX
DIV 1, TAX
OUT 1
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This program calculates the gross pay for an employee based on the number of hours worked and the hourly rate. The program then calculates the net pay by subtracting the tax from the gross pay.