T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
---|
246.1 | context should be your guide | CACHE::MARSHALL | beware the fractal dragon | Wed Sep 24 1986 16:27 | 15 |
| This may or may not be relevant, but the 0 and the O have a long
and convoluted antagonism with computers.
Remember the "slash" convention? which circle gets the slash, the
Oh or the zero? It has been either at various times, depending on
which was being used less at the time.
So, what I'm saying is that I doubt that anyone can really "clarify"
this issue. I know I can't.
/
( ___
) ///
/
|
246.2 | Context isn't always your guide | DRAGON::MCVAY | Pete McVay, VRO (Telecomm) | Wed Sep 24 1986 17:15 | 10 |
| re: .1
IBM FORTRAN IV users put slashes through their letter O's. HP2000
users slashes the zeroes. Since I had to migrate between the two
for a time, I had a terrible identity crisis...
What about the LN01/LN03 queues? Or did the system manager name
them LNO1/LNO3?? I was on two systems once where the system manager
had named them differently on each system. The users finally
threatened mutiny and death.
|
246.3 | good questino | REGENT::MERRILL | Glyph it up! | Thu Sep 25 1986 08:48 | 17 |
| Some of the early manuals for the "el en oh three" were printed
LNO3. The order entry system, however, refused to accept that number!
DIGIAL is trying [very trying!] to achieve at least a difference
between oh and zero, usually with a square oh and a oval zero. The
slash was dropped some time ago when the international � and � were
adopted.
For typeset fonts we are also identifying which fonts contain the
LEAST AMBIGUITY. For example, in italics, the 1's and l's and I's
are almost always distinct from each other!
This is an important issue and can also be addressed in RAJA::FONTS,
if you would like to add that conference to your list.
Rick Merrill
|
246.4 | You youngsters have got it EASY! | VOGON::GOODENOUGH | Jeff Goodenough, IPG Reading-UK | Thu Sep 25 1986 13:18 | 8 |
| Many years ago, when I first entered the world of computers, I was
told by an old hand about a certain line printer. It could only
print 32 separate graphic characters. To save 4 positions (26 upper
case letters + 10 digits = 36), the 'O' doubled as '0', the 'I'
as '1', and by clever design, the 'S' as '8' and the 'G' as '6'.
This printer was used to print payroll advices, and worked fine,
until one day a MISS S SPIGGS joined the company ...
|
246.5 | | ALIEN::MCCARTHY | | Tue Sep 30 1986 10:36 | 5 |
| If the printer you saw the new 0s and Os was an LA75, that was
apparently (according to the response we got when we commented on
the O/0 format) an error which is being corrected.
-Brian
|
246.6 | {...} | REGENT::MERRILL | Glyph it up! | Thu Oct 02 1986 08:45 | 5 |
| re: La75 - this printer is a buyout being done as an "emulation"
of the ___ ProPrinter and not designed according to our font standards.
(oops - wrong conf?)
|
246.7 | Italic full-stops | IOSG::DEMORGAN | | Fri May 08 1987 11:22 | 2 |
| Re .3 Before it was revised, the metasyntax of Algol 68 required
the use of an italic full-stop!
|