How I got started programming
Well, this is going round and round and round the inter-tubes and since Jim Holmes called me out I will certainly give my response. So here it is, in all it’s pith…
How old were you when you started programming?
21-ish. Started building lame-ass websites for my friends in college in the late 90s for funzies.
How did you get started in programming?
Dad sent me a laptop, I built a web page. That turned into a web site. Then I got Flash 4 from my student discount and started building flash web sites for people. I was doing data entry one day when my boss saw my website and asked if I would develop something for him at 10x the bill rate. That’s how I started.
What was your first language?
HTML and Javascript
What was the first real program you wrote?
A Blog Engine before it was called a blog.
What languages have you used since you started programming?
As many as I can get interested in: HTML, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash (actionscript), C, C++, C#, VB, VBScript, VB.NET, XML, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, Smalltalk (Dolphin), DOS, Powershell, Bash, XAML. etc, etc, etc…
What was your first professional programming gig?
NYC – Flash interfaces for banking reports.
If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?
Sure. I mean, if I didn’t like it I just would stop doing it and do something else. Not doing something you like for a living is retarded. If you’re doing that and you’re reading this, stop now. Move on. Do something with your short life, people. I program cause I enjoy it not only for the money.
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?
Think.
What’s the most fun you’ve ever had … programming?
Rich and I built a impossible CRM system in 3 weeks that was scoped at 6 months. We worked non-stop and had a great time. It wasn’t the system that was fun, it was working with Rich.
So, there you have it folks. Mystery revealed! ;)
How old were you when you started programming?
21-ish. Started building lame-ass websites for my friends in college in the late 90s for funzies.
How did you get started in programming?
Dad sent me a laptop, I built a web page. That turned into a web site. Then I got Flash 4 from my student discount and started building flash web sites for people. I was doing data entry one day when my boss saw my website and asked if I would develop something for him at 10x the bill rate. That’s how I started.
What was your first language?
HTML and Javascript
What was the first real program you wrote?
A Blog Engine before it was called a blog.
What languages have you used since you started programming?
As many as I can get interested in: HTML, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash (actionscript), C, C++, C#, VB, VBScript, VB.NET, XML, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, Smalltalk (Dolphin), DOS, Powershell, Bash, XAML. etc, etc, etc…
What was your first professional programming gig?
NYC – Flash interfaces for banking reports.
If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?
Sure. I mean, if I didn’t like it I just would stop doing it and do something else. Not doing something you like for a living is retarded. If you’re doing that and you’re reading this, stop now. Move on. Do something with your short life, people. I program cause I enjoy it not only for the money.
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?
Think.
What’s the most fun you’ve ever had … programming?
Rich and I built a impossible CRM system in 3 weeks that was scoped at 6 months. We worked non-stop and had a great time. It wasn’t the system that was fun, it was working with Rich.
So, there you have it folks. Mystery revealed! ;)
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Jim HolmesRich
+1 to "Think". Concise summary of many recent conversations.