The Historical Origins of 80×24 and 80×25 Display Standards: IBM's Market Influence
By
rbanffy
Pulled from the oven just right. Trustworthy, fact-dense, deeply satisfying.
Summary
The article investigates the historical origins of the 80×24 and 80×25 display formats that became standard for computer terminals. It traces the 80-column width to punch cards, which were widely used in early computing. For the 24/25 line height, the article identifies IBM's market dominance as the key factor. Specifically, IBM's 3270 terminal introduced in 1971 featured an 80×24 display and became the best-selling terminal, forcing competitors to adopt the same dimensions. The IBM PC later added one more line, establishing the 80×25 standard. The article explores various theories about the origins but concludes that IBM's commercial success and market influence were the primary drivers behind these display standards becoming ubiquitous.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledThe source of 80-column lines is clearly punch cards, as commonly claimed.
But why 24 or 25 lines? There are many theories, but I found a simple answer: IBM, in particular its dominance of the terminal market.
In 1971, IBM introduced a terminal with an 80×24 display (the 3270) and it soon became the best-selling terminal, forcing competing terminals to match its 80×24 size.
The display for the IBM PC added one more line to its screen, making the 80×25 size standard.
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