[after the "IBM System/360 Reference Data" card] A summary of
an assembly language, even if the colour is not green. Less
frequently used now because of the decrease in the use of
assembly language. "I'll go get my green card so I can check
the addressing mode for that instruction." Some green cards
are actually booklets.
The original green card became a yellow card when the
System/370 was introduced, and later a yellow booklet. An
anecdote from IBM refers to a scene that took place in a
programmers' terminal room at Yorktown in 1978. A luser
overheard one of the programmers ask another "Do you have a
green card?" The other grunted and passed the first a thick
yellow booklet. At this point the luser turned a delicate
shade of olive and rapidly left the room, never to return.
[Jargon File]
Nearby terms:
Green Book « Green Book CD-ROM « green bytes « green card » green lightning » green machine » green monitor
