You also have to keep in mind the "interface" for 1962-1968. The printer teletype machine.
The "control codes" were to "control" the printhead. So "carriage return" meant move the "print carriage" back to the left margin. "New line" meant move the paper platen one line height of rotation to move the paper to the next line. In that context, "back space" was "move print head one space left" (rather more like a "reverse space"). The article does mention that there was some debate about whether space should be considered "printable", but if you consider a mechanical printer, as the head is moving to the right and banging out characters onto the paper, the spaces between words do, sort of, look like "printables" (of a sort, a "print nothing" character as it were).
Tab's being control characters then make a bit more sense, in that they cause the printhead to jump some fixed distance to the right.
The article stated why DEL is where it is (all ones) -- so that for punched paper tape, one could get a punch-out of every position, which was then interpreted as "nothing here" by the tape reading machine.
As for typewriters, no, none had a "black box" blot out key. Correction (for typewriters without built in correction tape) was one of: retype the page, apply an eraser (and hopefully not damage the paper surface too much) then retype character and continue, or apply correction fluid (white-out) and retype character and continue.
For those typewriters with built in correction tape options (at least some IBM Selectric models, possibly more) the typewriter would retype the character using the "white-out" ribbon, then retype the replacement character using the normal "typewriting" ribbon.
> The article stated why DEL is where it is (all ones) -- so that for punched paper tape, one could get a punch-out of every position...
I saw an analogous use of backspace on some OS I ran into 30 years ago cruising around either Tymnet or TELENET. (I wish I could remember the OS...)
The password prompt assumed local echo. After entering a password the host would send a series of backspaces and various patterns of characters (####, **, etc) to overprint the locally-echoed (and printed) characters.
On the login to the first timesharing system I used, it would prompt for your password, then type eight M's, W's, and X's on top of each other (on paper, of course, since this was using a Teletype terminal), so when you actually typed your password the characters would be printed on top of those already obscured lines.
> For those typewriters with built in correction tape options (at least some IBM Selectric models, possibly more) the typewriter would retype the character using the "white-out" ribbon
there was also a solution for cheaper typewriters: small sheets of "white-out" paper (known under the genericized brand name "Tipp-Ex" here in Germany) that you could hold between the ink ribbon and the paper to "overwrite" a typo.
The "control codes" were to "control" the printhead. So "carriage return" meant move the "print carriage" back to the left margin. "New line" meant move the paper platen one line height of rotation to move the paper to the next line. In that context, "back space" was "move print head one space left" (rather more like a "reverse space"). The article does mention that there was some debate about whether space should be considered "printable", but if you consider a mechanical printer, as the head is moving to the right and banging out characters onto the paper, the spaces between words do, sort of, look like "printables" (of a sort, a "print nothing" character as it were).
Tab's being control characters then make a bit more sense, in that they cause the printhead to jump some fixed distance to the right.
The article stated why DEL is where it is (all ones) -- so that for punched paper tape, one could get a punch-out of every position, which was then interpreted as "nothing here" by the tape reading machine.
As for typewriters, no, none had a "black box" blot out key. Correction (for typewriters without built in correction tape) was one of: retype the page, apply an eraser (and hopefully not damage the paper surface too much) then retype character and continue, or apply correction fluid (white-out) and retype character and continue.
For those typewriters with built in correction tape options (at least some IBM Selectric models, possibly more) the typewriter would retype the character using the "white-out" ribbon, then retype the replacement character using the normal "typewriting" ribbon.