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#ibm-704

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Tech HistoryDeep Dive October 3, 2026 8 min read

FORTRAN and the IBM 704: Making High-Level Numerical Code Run Fast

Trace FORTRAN from IBM's 1954 project through the 704 compiler, numerical code generation, card-based workflow, and the limits of its early performance evidence.

#fortran#ibm-704#compiler-history

Tech HistoryDeep Dive October 3, 2026 8 min read

LISP on the IBM 704: Turning Symbolic Expressions into Computation

How John McCarthy's recursive-function model and the early IBM 704 LISP system made symbolic expressions executable data.

#lisp#john-mccarthy#ibm-704