Data Formats: Punch Cards

The advent of general-purpose computers required a new method of inputting and storing data. The punch card system for data input was initially used in the textile industry to program weaving patterns into Jacquard looms. Cards were then adapted for mechanical data processing, first used in the 1890 United States Census, and eventually integrated with computers by IBM. These cards would eventually feature 80 columns and 12 rows of numbers that could be punched out in rectangles to encode numbers, text, or symbols.