Have you ever wondered why the meaning of sorting in computing (ordering or ranking) is different from its everyday meaning (dividing into piles or categories)? The answer has to do with the history of sorting going back 130 years and turns out to be really interesting.
Here’s an IBM card sorter (probably a type 083 from the 1950s). It is sorting punch cards into 10 piles based on a particular digit (units digit, tens’ digit, etc.) The operator can specify which digit/column to sort on by turning a knob. youtube.com/watch?v=jJH2al…
@random_walker Fun fact: did you know that the word for computer in Spanish and French means, in fact, sorter? (Ordenador & ordinateur, respectively)
@random_walker @bosyber Where does a difference engine fit. Although designed by Babbage, it's only recently been built from designs and parts by the Science Museum in London. And when do cypher machines, or rather de-cypher cease to be comparators and become programmable computers. Thinking Betchley
@random_walker The other everyday meaning is also the general computer definition. If you have a pile of papers you could sort them into alphabetical order, etc. Sorting also means to put in order.
@random_walker @harish224227 that's a great share. 😃 Keep posting.
