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Mini Mainframe History Quiz!!

Mainframe History Quiz!

For something a little different, I thought I’d give y’all a little mainframe challenge to enjoy!  Here’s a 10-question quiz to test what you know about mainframe history - have fun and don’t peek at the answers at the bottom J

 

  1. Punch card technology was first constructed by Herman Hollerith in:
    1. 1860
    2. 1880
    3. 1908
    4. 1930
  2. Which was never a real IBM computer system?
    1. 980
    2. 3033
    3. 7094
    4. 650
  3. What does ENIAC really stand for anyway?
    1. Electronic Number Inversion and Conversion
    2. Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
    3. Electrical Numeric Integer Advanced Calculations
    4. Everyone Needs Insane Acronym Choices
  4. In 1991, who unsuccessfully announced “I predict that the last mainframe will be unplugged on March 15th, 1996”?
    1. Dr. John V. Atanasoff
    2. Steve Jobs
    3. Bill Gates
    4. Stewart Alsop
  5. I was born this same year that the IBM XT made it’s debut:
    1. 1983
    2. 1982
    3. 1981
    4. 1984
  6. What is the correct chronological order of these events (leading up to most recent)?
    1. Punch card technology à COBOL introduced à UNIX developed à EDVAC created
    2. EDVAC createdà Punch card technology à COBOL introduced à UNIX developed
    3. Punch card technology à UNIX developed à COBOL introduced à EDVAC created
    4. Punch card technology à EDVAC created à COBOL introduced à UNIX developed
  7. Which is/was not a real programming language?
    1. Snobol
    2. Limbo
    3. m6
    4. Jal
  8. IMS came about due to the needs of:
    1. NASA
    2. U.S. Military
    3. WWII leaders
    4. U.S. prison systems
  9. What does MVS stand for?
    1. Multi-functional Virtual Storage
    2. Multiple Virtual Storage
    3. Multi-tasking Variety Storage
    4. Multiple Virtual System
  10. The latest and greatest IBM z9 came out in:
    1. 2006
    2. 2004
    3. 2005
    4. 2003

Hope it wasn’t too hard J  I had a fun time researching these questions…if you find any errors or have any fun facts to add, be sure to add a comment or let me know!

 

Finally, I came upon an interesting article from the NY Times written in 1984 denouncing the future of the mainframe…J  

Answers: 1. b; 2. a; 3. b; 4. d; 5. a; 6. d; 7. c; 8. a; 9. b; 10. c

Til next time! Kristine

Published Wednesday, May 16, 2007 4:06 PM by kharper

Comments

 

cmullins said:

Great quiz, Kristine.

I have actually programmed in Snobol... but it was a long time ago, in college and actually, before you were born (which makes me feel very old)!

May 22, 2007 3:50 PM
 

robcreighton said:

I started in 1972 writing 360 Assembler (I was very young at the time, of course). I knew some of these answers and supsected others.

Good fun and thanks!

Oh and btw, lisiting the multiple-choices as numerals and the answers as letters was an interesting touch!

:)

October 9, 2007 3:39 PM
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About kharper

Kristine H. Neely is a developer for NEON Enterprise Software. Kristine graduated from the University of Arizona in 2005, but prior to graduation, completed internships with NEON Enterprise Software in the summers from 2001-2005. Kristine works as an assembler programmer in the area of research & development, on IMS projects. Specifically, she has worked on NEON’s D2 and Mission Control products. As a young female, Kristine is somewhat of an anomaly in the mainframe industry. That drove her to become involved with zNextGen, a user-driven community that aims to connect peers and facilitate shared experiences among emerging mainframe professionals. Kristine is currently a project manager for zNextGen, and is a frequent presenter at SHARE. She has also been included in media coverage with the following outlets: Search CIO Tech Target, KUHF Radio, eWeek, Reuters, and more. Visit her blog to read about the trends in her world: http://www.neonesoft.com/blog/blogs/kharper/default.aspx

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