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0 pointspavlov3y ago0 comments

Airline systems are some of the oldest computing architectures in use.

The Sabre reservation system was created by IBM for American Airlines in the 1950s — when a computer filled an entire building floor and was built out of vacuum tubes — and remains actively used today by multiple airlines. The programming language has been switched several times over the past 60+ years, but essential compatibility remains.

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persona_reuse3y ago

I can't remember where I read this and I can't find a cite right away, but I bet someone can confirm-or-correct me: the 6-letter reservation code for your flight? That used to be an explicit pointer of memory in oldold Sabre.

tracerbulletx3y ago

The IBM 1301 disk manual (A22-6785), for the 7090 computer that SABRE was first used with seems to have a record address scheme that matches.(see page 10, Record Address) http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/7090/A22-6785_1301_1302_on_709x...

rtev3y ago

I really hope that’s true, it’s hilarious either way!

ethbr03y ago

Indeed. Probably the only equally complex and old dynamic computing systems out there are railroad and federal economic ones.

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