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Question 1.) Why do you program, and what attracted you to programming in the first place?
I grew up playing every Sierra game... King's Quest, Space Quest, Hero's Quest, etc, plus the old Gold Box SSI games (and so many more). I found a hex editor for DOS and figured out how to hex-edit my saves, and eventually item tables in certain games. This fascinated me and so I started trying to figure out what kind of stuff would be going on behind the scenes (long before the internet became available where I grew up). I knew I wanted to make games since my early teenage years. Went to college for Comp.Sci, finished my degree, and finally got into the industry. It's been an interesting ride ever since! It's a fascinating career since every project you work on is completely different. There's always something you've never seen before, including newer / better / more efficient approaches to tackling various tasks. You're always constantly learning and exploring.
Question 2.) Do you see any problems or future problems that could arise within the programmer subculture?
Computing power is so strong and advances exponentially, and the software needed to handle the new tech must be equally advanced. The more the field advances, the more involved the software needs to get, so it starts to cost a lot more to make. Eventually when our computers are at the equivalent of a human brain (look up the Singularity Event) and start inventing newer computers, there's no way to know what will happen next.
This guy tends to have an interesting take on what's coming down the pipe.
Robotic Nation, by Marshall Brain[^]
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Why? I love the challenge. The challenge of fixing some obscure bug that nobody else can find or the fact of turning someone's requirements into a fully fledged system that people want to use.
What attracted me? Started out at university, I was helping my girlfriend with an assignment and found I could understand the concepts and write programs. Transferred to the Science degree the next year.
Problems? Well were do I start.
- How about the growth in the number of people who have read a book or two, written a MS Access macro and now believe they can produce a complete enterprise wide system and then wonder why they have problems. They then come to the professional to fix up their disaster.
- The perception, especially in the corporate world, that a small change is easy to make and cannot understand why is take 4 weeks to be implemented when the IT group have to follow the corporate change management processes which they didn't do for their adhoc MS Access system.
- The evolving languages and where recruiters and companies want some who has the essential skills of ASP.NET, MVC, C#, WPF, MVVM, HTML 5, JavaScript, Bootstrap, WEbAPI and SQL AND then wonders why they can't find someone.
- And then there is the ageism. How come the recruiters and businesses do not believe that someone over 50 could know or program in the latest languages and technologies. We've only been programming for 30+ years, learning and using multiple languages, flowing with and following changing technologies and methodologies. Yet we get overlooked and they hire a 20 year old whose only just learned to program in one specific language and who has no idea of how to analyse the problem at hand or to even suggest an alternative solution as they have no experience.
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Programming isn't something you are attracted to, it's something that sucks you in. It's like addiction, you start out of curiosity and get your first fix. Then the second. Then you're done.
The main problem I see isn't in the "programming subculture" but in the fact the ones you asked are still considered questions worth asking.
A
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1) I had a specific 'real' world problem to solve, so I wrote a D&D character generator in BASIC on the ZX Spectrum. Realized I really liked it an eventually went to college to learn to program professionally.
2) The disproportionate number of men to women within programming is not helping the outward appearance of programming culture. i.e. too 'geeky' or 'nerdy'. Secondly, the willingness to accept inexperienced , unqualified merit, over experienced and qualified professionalism.
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Question 1.) Why do you program, and what attracted you to programming in the first place
I began programming in the late 70's because I way fascinated by the fact that I, an individual, could exhibit such power to control a sophisticated machine like a computer, and through a few instructions have it do my bidding. It was exhilarating and fun. I'm not an artist, but I still like be creative and to see what I can create. I like to solve problems, and see the faces of those grateful people who's problems I solved.
Question 2.) Do you see any problems or future problems that could arise within the programmer subculture?
The biggest problem is that to stay relevant you need to allays be learning the next platform or paradigm. This business moves faster than than any other industry. The language of the day will change by the time you get proficient at it. That trend will accelerate in the coming years. Software is also going to start writing itself in the very near future, which may not bode well for pure coders. My recommendation for new people to this industry: Learn general business skills, the kind that you can take to any organization to compliment you coding skills. Learn accounting/finance, writing, public speaking, business math and and analysis. Get your BS in computer science but get an MBA in business administration. More than pure coders, companies increasingly want people who can cross the room and talk to their users in a language they can understand. You need to be conversant with the latest software paradigm and talk business also. Bottom line is you need to have or develop a passion for this industry. If you don't have that passion your not going to have the energy to invest the extra effort to stay ahead of the pack. Find you passion. What do you do when your not being paid. Find a way to work that passion into a paying career and you shoot ahead of the pack.
Good Luck
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The last photo I took had over a million pixels and cost me nothing! 
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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No, no. Don't tell me. If you're not a developer you get two!
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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So Google sent me a 'unique discount code', that gives me 25% off of the prize...I went to Google Store to see how much it is with shipment... and 'The Google Store isn't available here yet.'...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Don't forced updates mean that win 10 is a roofie?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Only if it puts you to sleep first.
Decrease the belief in God, and you increase the numbers of those who wish to play at being God by being “society’s supervisors,” who deny the existence of divine standards, but are very serious about imposing their own standards on society.-Neal A. Maxwell
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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... or it's the OS equivalent of rape
veni bibi saltavi
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Mark_Wallace wrote: forced updates
Forced updates mean that my upgrade from Win7 will be Linux.
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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That is a spurious news source. Here is a more reputable one (relatively speaking).
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Yes, but no way will I dare drink unpasteurized milk! I will leave to the bright politicians who legalized raw milk. And I wish them the best of luck.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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Why would anyone want to legalize it? What's the driving reason behind it, do you know?
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Quote: What's the driving reason behind it
Who knows? Probably a bunch of hippies?
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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Cornelius Henning wrote: Probably a bunch of hippies?
Actually, having lived in WV, I assure you that those insisting on this were about as unlike hippies as one could imagine.
WV is primarily composed of good solid conservative bigots - like you'd find in most of the low population states (and Texass). The reason the northern coastal states have large population densities is people trying to get away from the inbred masses and they ran out of running room.
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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Quote: good solid conservative bigots
Different values from hippies, but same IQ range.
Get me coffee and no one gets hurt!
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It allows farmers to sell direct to customers at the barn door as it were rather than to milk packagers/processors and thus get the full value. The truth is, of course, that it's been going on legally or not so it's just one less hassle for the authorities who policed it.
I am not a number. I am a ... no, wait!
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Its been said that it causes less allergies and more of the actual nutritional value stays in. Buying from a reputable farmer with a healthy herd would probably not be dangerous to your health.
I grew up on a farm and only had raw milk as a child - never got sick from it.
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Remember, this is West Virgina, not to be confused with Virginia.
Consider this quote (extracted from the text) by one of their brilliant lawmakers:
"There definitely shouldn’t be a law against allowing people to do what they want within the framework of the rule of law . . .”
That should explain everything.
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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