Poll: How long have you been programming?

Post by pilot_pirx » Mon, Apr 02, 2012, 10:18 AM UTC

gaius wrote: post #62

endlessvoid94 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hypothesis is that the 'stack' is much taller. Back when all you needed was QBasic to "learn to code", "learning to code" meant reproducing other software you used on a daily basis. Software is generally much more polished now, and it requires much more time and work to get it so polished (assuming it's at all complex). I'm not saying I agree with this. But the situation is definitely different from 10 years ago…

I don't think that's true. NOTEPAD.EXE and Firefox is all you need to start with HTML and JavaScript, for example. Microsoft gives away Visual Studio for free download, there are all the open source languages (ActiveState does great distros for Windows) etc etc. It's a cultural shift. Kids these days are consumers, not producers.

Post by marquis » Mon, Apr 02, 2012, 10:23 AM UTC

drblast wrote: post #27

Started at age 7 on a C64. I learned binary before I could multiply because you needed to understand binary to create multi-colored sprites on the C64. I made a game where you drove a car and avoided things, then another where you drove a spaceship and avoided things, then another where you shot arrows at moving targets. That last game was the first one I wrote where the goal was to hit things, a major departure for…

Post by gaius » Mon, Apr 02, 2012, 10:25 AM UTC

pilot_pirx wrote: post #71

gaius wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that's true. NOTEPAD.EXE and Firefox is all you need to start with HTML and JavaScript, for example. Microsoft gives away Visual Studio for free download, there are all the open source languages (ActiveState does great distros for Windows) etc etc. It's a cultural shift. Kids these days are consumers, not producers.

But they still need to find the information that there are such super simple options. Google "programming tutorial beginner" and the first thing is about C++. Ask in a forum and you will start a long discussion about which language to learn first. There is an incredible amount of information and tools that would allow to start very easy (and without having to pay anything for tools or books), but without somebody exp…

Post by voodoochilo » Mon, Apr 02, 2012, 10:35 AM UTC

terhechte wrote: post #76

Wow, I ticked 20+ years since I started with Pascal and QBasic when I was something between 11 and 12. Given how many years of coding most people in here have, I'm not even in the middle with my 20 years :)

Post by ghenne » Mon, Apr 02, 2012, 10:43 AM UTC

exDM69 wrote: post #38

Related: are there any 2nd or 3rd generation programmers around? My both parents are professional software engineers. (Waiting for someone to go: "I am a direct descendant of Ada Lovelace, now get off my lawn")