How I Got Started in Software Development

So it seems this whole getting memed thing is getting out of hand.  I know this as Tokes has decided to meme me.  So like him I don’t really think there is anybody out there interested in this, but here we go…

 

How old were you when you started programming?

I started coding when I was about 13.

How did you get started in programming?

I got a C64 as a birthday present and I was hooked.  I still remember sitting hours copying the code samples from computer mags.

But I never saw computing as a job and I was planning on becoming an Accountant of all things.  So I went to Uni and one of my subjects was a computer science class.  As I found the class extremely easy and interesting I thought that I was much better suited to a programming job than accounting.  And it seems I was 100% correct, I would have hated accounting.  

What was your first language?

Basic.

What was the first real program you wrote?

I can really not remember, but my first paid programming job was for a bank, writing in COBOL.

What languages have you used since you started programming?

BASIC, Turbo Pascal, Delphi, COBOL, Visual Basic, VB Script, VBA, JavaScript, T-SQL, C#, there is others, but I don’t even want to mention them.

What was your first professional programming gig?

At a bank, coding mainframe applications.

If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?

Definitely.

If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?

Never stop learning, but those that are true developers will know this already.

What’s the most fun you’ve ever had… programming?

I agree with Tokes, the comradery in this industry is just amazing.  And my best times have definitely been when I was working with a team of passionate developers.  Projects that have stood out so far for me is the Blue Catalyst project with Armand, Jaco and the team at T-Systems, and then a few weeks ago my little project with Rosh using Notepad and classic asp (this seems a bit sad, but we had so much fun doing the work, as you could not help yourself as we laughed about how crappy we had it 10 years ago).

 

So I’ll pass this meme on to:

Armand Du Plessis

Thea Burger

Danie Bruwer

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