Computer

[calcifer@masto.hackers.town]

Computer

Lptputer

(For the 5 people who get this joke: psst we’re old)

[mcslibinas@mastodon.social]

@calcifer imagine this: live so long to understand the joke and hearing the joke for the first time.

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@mcSlibinas @calcifer I wonder if there are greybeards who are old enough to get the joke, but don't get it because they never used DOS, only other operating systems.

[ma_delsuc@fediscience.org]

@oblomov @mcSlibinas @calcifer

I am !

never used DOS and barely Windows actually.
Even though, got my hand first on PDP-11 running RTX-11M (in 1978), got my personal ZX81 (in 1981!) were I wrote my first Fourier transform algo, Used RTX-11M, CP/M, Apple ][, Adakos (Bruker), VMS, CTSS (Cray), Unix (many flavors), Unice, Basic, Forth, Linux, MacOs 6 to 10, Android, e/os (in chronological order)... but no DOS ever.

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@ma_delsuc @mcSlibinas @calcifer

oh wow. So, do you want the joke explained? 8-D

[ma_delsuc@fediscience.org]

@oblomov @mcSlibinas @calcifer
I guess COMP is some kind of DOS command...

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@ma_delsuc @mcSlibinas @calcifer

well, comp was a DOS command, but the joke is that COM[1-9] was the designator for the serial ports, and LPT[1-9] the one for parallel ports (the list of such reserved names also includes CON, AUX, PRN, NUL). They are basically the equivalent of the /dev/* stuff in Unix and similar systems, but they were first introduced in DOS when it didn't even have the concept of a directory so they're in the global namespace for files.