To all actually interested in 3270 pre-history > And the original IBM 3270 screen size was Model 1, 12 lines by 40 characters. > Model 2 (24 * 80) didn't come along until later.
It was my possibly faulty recollection that just about all of the first generation of 3270 equipment was announced - and, I'm going to guess, could be delivered - in one go. By resort to comprehensive Googling, it is possible to avoid dubious speculation - because I found the "smoking gun" - and I also found the page which is indeed phrased in such a way that it could be misunderstood.[1] By entry of the following: history 3270 IBM the 26th "hit" (3rd page) is the following manual very kindly retained for us by "bitsavers": "An Introduction to the IBM 3270 Information Display System", GA27-2739-1, Second Edition (May 1971) http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/3270/GA27-2739-1_An_Introduction_to_the_IBM_3270_Information_Display_System_May71.pdf or the 4th item on the following page: http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/3270/ I draw your attention in particular to the "-1" at the end of the "form number". Unfortunately this isn't "-0" but literally the next best thing.[2] You will note the following in the "Preface": <quote> 3277 Display Station, Models 1 and 2 </quote> and the fact there are *no* revision bars. That means that this bulleted list item was the same in the previous edition of the manual, the "-0", and that, because of the date and, unlike another manual I unearthed (GA23-0060-0, November 1980), this is not some reissue of an earlier manual. Therefore the Model 1 and the Model 2 were described initially at the same time and I am going to assume they were announced at the same time, approximately the date of this manual. - [1] The 5th "hit": http://www.hob-techtalk.com/2008/09/12/3270-a-brief-history <quote> The first display had a very small screen displaying only 12 rows with 40 characters. </quote> A bit of a sort-of "Chinese whisper" problem here. I think this "first" need not *mean* chronologically although that is implied. [2] Fortunately I've just finished reading "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and so I have been tuning my deductive reasoning! I don't believe I had actually read the book before but I - tried to - follow carefully the 7-episode BBC series 30 odd years ago. I don't believe the film can possibly do justice to the complexities or the sequencing of the revelations. Another interesting point is that the BBC series included a key scene near the end which is not explicit in the book. I wonder what the film will do ... - Chris Mason On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:15:25 -0600, Mike Schwab <[email protected]> wrote: > ... > >And the original IBM 3270 screen size was Model 1, 12 lines by 40 >characters. Model 2 (24 * 80) didn't come along until later. > >-- >Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
