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When did you first learn to code and why? I learned in 2012 and my WHY is to hopefully be successful one day in helping millions.
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Randy Ga wrote: When did you first learn to code and why?
Back in the early 90s, I took a computer class in High School because I knew computers would become a big thing and I thought it would be good to help me get into college.
It turns out it was a Pascal Programming class and for the first 3 weeks the computers weren't ready so we did everything on the whiteboard. I was so lost and confused, I had no clue what we were doing. Nothing made sense at all.
Once the computers were ready and I saw the Pascal compiler and where we were typing in the commands, it all made sense and I've been doing programming ever since.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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In the early 80s I just wanted to try something new and via a family member I had an opportunity to try my hand at coding. Over time I learned BASIC (of course), then came writing glossaries for the Wang OIS[^] (you're really old if you remember Wang), Lotus 123 macros and dBase II. Made some money, had some fun, but eventually grew tired of being in an office all day and went back to trucking. Nowadays I just write apps for my own use or the occasional CP article.
Sometimes the true reward for completing a task is not the money, but instead the satisfaction of a job well done. But it's usually the money.
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My first lines of codes were written in 1983 or 1984; at that time I had a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A computer, and the language was (extended) BASIC.
Why? Because coding is just awesome 
"I'm neither for nor against, on the contrary." John Middle
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Did you buy the huge 32K Memory Expansion and dabble in assembly language with it? I did.
First 16-bit CPU, baby!
The difficult we do right away...
...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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I had indeed the 32K memory expansion, but I did not code in assembly language; not that I did not want to, I remember having searched for books on the subject; but at that time, I did not get any, or at least any I could understand easily. There must have been some good materials on the subject back then, but not in my native language, unfortunately. I was a teenager, and at that time the only English words I could speak were those of the songs I was listening to; something like: "Won't you take me to... Funkytown!". I could sing them, but not understand.
"I'm neither for nor against, on the contrary." John Middle
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phil.o wrote: TI-99/4A
Me too! A pricing war had made them affordable so my brothers and I got one for Christmas in either '82 or '83. My brothers were interested in the games but I realized that there was much more to it than that and soon had it doing my algebra homework, playing music with flashing colors...what fun! Luckily, we had an extra TV for the basement!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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I was lucky to have comprehensive parents, who let me monopolize their TV (we only had one at that moment).
Thinking back, they must have wondered if I really was their offspring ^^
"I'm neither for nor against, on the contrary." John Middle
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Yup. I'm with you, Phil. I played around with a Timex Sinclair a little before that. Being able to build things was the hook that got me.
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Around these years there was a publication dedicated to computer code called Hebdogiciel. In it you could find codes for various computer systems like HP41, PC 1251, PC1500, TRS 80, Thomson TO7/MO8, MZ 80, TI-99/4A, Apple IIc/e, ZX 81, Sinclair, Spectrum, Commodore, ORIC 1/ ATMOS, Alice, Atari 520/1024 ST, and I surely forgot some.
All these names still ring the bell of nostalgia to me.
"I'm neither for nor against, on the contrary." John Middle
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Here a small sample code for SPECTRUM found in my archives:
1 REM **MUSHROOM** SPECTRUM 48K: REM PE et H CELLARD:
2 GO SUB 800: LET ba=0
3 DIM h$(5,3): FOR x=1 TO 5: LET h$(x)="AAA": NEXT x
4 DIM h(5): LET hsc=10: FOR x=1 TO 5: LET h(x)=0: NEXT X
5 BORDER 1: LET a$="A": LET c$=" "
6 LET t=15: LET pa=3: LET te=.4: LET b$="I": LET ni=0
...
"I'm neither for nor against, on the contrary." John Middle
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Oh the memories. I bought my Timex Sinclair with Paper Route Money, had it for 1 week, and returned it to Kmart! Went for the TI/94-A eventually with a PEB. I worked with my buddy who was into music, and I wrote software that played Christmas songs. I learned enough about music that I could setup the DATA to be (Note,time) pairs so I could READ It out loud and he could match it to the sheet music, and vice versa (I could type as he read). We must have done his entire book of Christmas songs...
I had a Radio Shack Model I (That I bought used, and the seller ripped me off, selling me a broken floppy drive... I was just a kid... Who does that to a kid?).
The TRS-80 Came out, and we learned to forcibly change the master password on ANY Floppy:
- Insert your disk, choose change master password
- Enter your current password <confirms password="" is="" correct="">
- Prompt for new password
- Swap disks with the TARGET disk
- Type new password, press enter: Writes password over other password without checking. LOL.
My buddy got a PC (with a floppy only). HDs wire like 5MB back then... Too expensive.
We wired up an Analog to Digital Converter to the serial port, from the HAM Radio output he had.
And in the course of a day, we wrote code that converted the Morse Code to text on the screen, adapting for speed dynamically!
This was all in High School, Circa 1982-1985...
Then we got into the DEC PDP/11 running RSTS/E and BASIC-PLUS running the main Runtime/OS.
(Most programs for the entire operating system were written in BASIC PLUS!).
We also had COBOL and Fortran to learn, as well as Assembler (which matched the C syntax wonderfully, I would learn later on when I took to C like a fish to water!)
I spent 8-10hrs/day, 6 days a week at school, in the computer room my Junior and Senior year.
When I found out that they PAID PEOPLE to do this (as I was getting brought in to install and fix things), I was blown away. When I found out they PAID WELL for these skills... I grew a perma grin!
There is a certain amount of empowerment knowing at a young age (15-16) what you want to do for the rest of your life! I feel bad for people who are still looking AFTER college!
Find something you LOVE doing, and then find someone stupid enough to pay you to do it! LOL
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That's it. Was trying to find the words and you nailed it. I have a similar story at about the same time. Mine though had to do with the TRS-80, a model III mind you (CLOAD, baby!). Writing code is just awesome.
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I had a 99. Still have the BASIC manual as a keepsake. In its day it was a great gaming machine.
Sometimes the true reward for completing a task is not the money, but instead the satisfaction of a job well done. But it's usually the money.
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I had one of those and I rewrote the operating system in hand coded assembly and used Forth as an operating system. and networked it with my Radio Shack TRS 80 Model I, also with a rewritten operating system. That was a lot of fun! That
TI chip had pretty neat CPU aechetecture!
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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1978 for me. I took up the trade because I wasn't required to talk to people that annoy me.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: to talk to people that annoy me.
Little did you know then that you'd be an active participant of CP. 
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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Ditto, except I found out that stupid has no boundaries or limitations...
Don't let your mind wander too far.
It's too small to be let out alone.
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But you get to cuss at compilers and machines because they do what you instruct rather than what you want!And shooting com[puteers isn't illegal.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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I've usually been on the anoyying end of things,
I usually laugh at people who annoy me, but that appears to be more annoying than ignoring them.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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The first computer I laid my hands on was a Sinclair ZX81 (black and white), I was fascinated and got hooked on Basic programming. Did not think I would be doing this as a profession later on in life, evolved from Basic to VB, VB.NET and finally C#.
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I went the same path but started with a commodore 64 and went via SuperBase before I got into VB.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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SuperBase rings a bell with me, I had that on my Atari 1040ST but never did anything useful with it.
Later on I thought DbaseIII+ was more interesting because of job opportunities, and to my amazement I got a job as a database programmer pretty quick !
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