With the renewed attention on the Apollo Guidance Computer, I'll share some photos from a presentation I gave a couple of years ago on software documentation, featuring its source code.

The engineers who wrote the software that got astronauts onto the moon sure had a sense of whimsy!

Sources:
Archival scans: https://archive.org/details/Luminary99001J2k60
B/W scans: https://www.ibiblio.org/apollo/ScansForConversion/Luminary099/
Transcriptions: https://github.com/chrislgarry/Apollo-11
Photo sources in alt text.

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

The Apollo Guidance Computer keyboard and display system program was called "PINBALL GAME BUTTONS AND LIGHTS".

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

A quote from Henry VI, adapted for the DSKY.

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

The master ignition routine was called "BURN, BABY, BURN".

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

HELLO THERE.
GOODBYE. COME AGAIN SOON.

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

ASTRONAUT: PLEASE CRANK THE SILLY THING AROUND
OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD...

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #nasa #apollo #artemis

@thalia hahaha I remember making similar comments in REM statements back in the Apple 2 days.

@thalia @a2_4am

… actually, come to think about it, my PhD thesis had similar comments scattered throughout it during development.

@thalia That's got to be legacy code still running on systems somewhere. It was damned by that comment. Like all such calls to temporary functions that will be removed "soon"

@thalia

We need a Luminary to understand this code πŸ˜‰πŸ––

@thalia Also: "SEE IF HE'S LYING" πŸ˜‚

@thalia

I miss those old oily inky printouts made by ribboned impact printers. The printers, not so much.

@thalia These are really neat, thank you so much for sharing them!

@thalia this is in '69, so that's a direct reference to the watts riots. crazy.

"honi soit qui mal y pense" is pretty great too.

@phooky Apparently that's translated as "shamed be the person who thinks evil of it". What's the reference?
Honi soit qui mal y pense - Wikipedia

@phooky @thalia I had to look up when Disco Inferno came out, I just assumed that song must be the origin of the phrase.
@thalia The "Honi soit qui mal y pense" is maybe even a bit funnier