How Long Have You Been Programming ?

miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG

Apr 17 2005, 06:15 AM

Lets start this thread and find out more about our coding roadmap!

The first code I ever wrote was on a BBC Micro Computer that came with its on embedded ROM-OS and ROM-BASIC - this was when I was in my 5th grade (1990-91). It was pretty powerful for those times, offering decent 16-color graphics and a powerful sound engine behind it (using normal computer speakers) - that PCs never achieved.

In about an year or so, I shifted over to PCs coz the lack of applications for the BBC Micro was getting to me (all appz for it had to be either written in Assembly or that ROM Basic). Then came GW-BASIC 2.0 on DOS 4.0. That was fun - big fun.

It any of you still have the old basic interpreters (GW/QB) try out this code - this was one of my very first experiments with CGA graphics. It struck me so amazing at that time that I was able to magnify screen text and add touches of color through a few simple lines of coding.

CODE

CLS
SCREEN 1
PRINT "Text:";
INPUT text$
FOR x = 48 TO 48 + 10 * LEN(text$)
FOR y = 0 TO 8
IF POINT(x, y) <> 0 THEN
LINE (10 + x * 2, 50 + y * 2)-(12 + x * 2, 52 + y * 2), 2, B
LINE (12 + x * 2, 52 + y * 2)-(14 + x * 2, 54 + y * 2), 1, B
END IF
NEXT
NEXT

Next came QuickBASIC, and then Pascal... finally leading to C & Assembly - in such quick succession that I lost count. Now I'm armed with Java, JScript & PHP a little bit, quite solid on the C++, C# & VB.NET Front.

That would be 15 years now

God, can't imagine so much time has passed by in between.

vizskywalker

Apr 17 2005, 06:29 AM

Similar progression for me. In 5th grade I started in Qbasic. Dabbled in assembly for libraries for qb7.1, then gave up. I switched over to c++, didn't like it and moved to working with websites. I learned HTML (which is NOT a programming language, it is a markup language) and javascript. Then my free webhoster allowed perl CGI scripts, so I gobbled that up. Feeling more confident with my ability I went back to c++ and added java.

Then I got a TI83+ and started programing in BASIC for that. I wanted more control and started learning assembly for the calc and quickly switched to assembly for the pc. Then I joined astahost, got my hosting and started learning PHP and mySQL because I had access to it.

Somewhere along the way I also learned VB.

I hope to progress soon to GEL. GEL is a language I am writing in assembly designed primrily for making games. There are currently no high level languages that I can think of that are not based on other languages designed for games. So I decided to start work on GEL. (GEL = Game Engineering Language and is pronounced JEHL (the eh means short E)).

~Viz

P.S. I am going to try out your code m^e, it looks really good. It reads like it checks a point and if it exists then it drawsa box for the point somewhere else, but shouldn't it be BF not B to fill in the box?
P.P.S. Do you know any vesa coding in assembly?
P.P.P.S If anyone wants to help on the GEL project, PM me.

miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG

Apr 17 2005, 07:00 AM

Yaah - try experimenting with both BF & B - BF would draw Filled Boxes - here I'm drawing a simple non-filled rectangle for each point. You could also experiment with hatch patterns by adding in hex values after the B/BF...
Like:

CODE

LINE (10 + x * 2, 50 + y * 2)-(12 + x * 2, 52 + y * 2), 2, BF, &HF3E

vizskywalker

Apr 17 2005, 07:06 AM

Cool, I never knew about the hatch patterns, how does the hex value determine hatchiness?

~Viz

miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG

Apr 17 2005, 08:12 AM

That I've long forgotten - but I used to experiment around with different values and find a hatch to my liking. Infact when I used this function regularly, I'd built up a reference table of patterns & their hex values - but don't have a copy anymore.

Try putting it in a for loop - I mean fill up the screen with horizontal lines with different hex values using a for loop and you'll get an idea.

Forge

Apr 17 2005, 09:32 AM

I have been coding since when, hm I believe I started with QBasic at an age of 7? and moved onto Visual Basic at 10. Now I am 15 years old and I am programming Visual Basic, Delphi and PHP at the same time.

oncombeureum

Apr 17 2005, 02:40 PM

wah, in such a way, I feel almost as same as you.
i woke every morning realizing my self, what's the next programming i should read or *worse* understood.
ha..

your code like a sweet memory.

michaellam

Apr 18 2005, 01:42 AM

It's interesting how everyone started out programming by a computer... I started to learn how to program in 7th grade by a calculator. It's a pitiful age to start since I can never catch up with anyone

. Well, it began with a Texas Instruments Calculator, the TI 83 Plus. Learning how to make BASIC programs on that thing was awesome. Then I moved on to computers and started learning all the basics as mentioned above, QBasic, Visual Basic, etc... Then eventually leading up to C++. I would love to learn assembly but I don't have the time anymore...

Actually, if one was to consider HTML as a programming language, then one can say I started programming by 5th grade... but HTML isn't...

If some of you wish you could learn your first programming earlier, when would it be? I say, I wished I could have started programming in 3rd grade (I mastered my basic math by then) so I would have the time to learn Assembly by now...

vizskywalker

Apr 18 2005, 01:59 AM

Age three or four, that is when I was first allowed to use a computer for games. I had already mastered large number multiplication and long division and had a good grasp of how math topics worked. And at the time my sister was making a program in QBasic for school.

~Viz

VJgamer

Apr 19 2005, 05:09 PM

I am now 17 years old and have been programming for about 5 years.

I currently develop programs in QBasic, Visual Basic, and Flash Action Script.

I am currently learning both Java and C++. I know QBasic and Visual Basic very very well, and am getting relly good at programming in flash.

Latest Entries

joseph77

Jan 21 2008, 01:11 PM

i've been learning different programming language for 2 years now, since my current degree i took in college is BS in Information Technology. I've been learning C/C++ programming during my freshman year, Java Programming & Web Programming on the 1st semester of my sophomore year and now currenlty taking up assembly language with interfacing...

Chesso

Jan 21 2008, 03:29 AM

Yeah I started a bit like that, just modifying some mIRC scripts, or more examining them to see which piece does what.

It helps to gain a better understand of what more specific things do, especially if you can't manage to build things yourself from scratch, or know how to use certain functions and/or features etc.

Andres Martinez Andrade

Jan 20 2008, 08:40 PM

QUOTE(Eggie @ Jan 20 2008, 08:40 AM)

i've been programming for about 1 month....i didnt even create my own scripts...i downloaded them and rebuilded,fixed,debugged and other things....never created one from scratch

That is great, rebuilding scripts is a good way of learning how to program. I use to do that in high school when I make web pages, I create some things and other parts were modified scripts. Is a good way because you learn how things are programmed and then you can learn those techniques and create your own. Nowadays I program almost everything I use; I only download some complex and very good scripts (like scriptacolous.js).

turbopowerdmaxsteel

Jan 20 2008, 05:59 PM

(For me) Basically, there are two flavors of Programming languages - one accounting to the classic C/C++ types and the other resembling BASIC. I began with the latter (which includes the likes of VB/VB .NET/ASP/ASP .NET) back in schooling days. Even though, I have learnt a great deal of the former category namely, C/C++, Java/Javascript, C# & PHP, I prefer BASIC style coding. Its much closer to english and is kind of easy going on the eyes too. At first, I disliked C++ which came in as an optional subject in senior secondary. However my stand didn't last long, especially on realizing the immensely greater power that it provided (compared to GW-Basic which is what I really knew at that point of time). I was also trying my hands on VB6 back then. Even though I didn't have access to the Internet, I managed to get quite comfortable in it, thanks to the MSDN documentation.

Object Oriented Programming brought about by C++ just seemed like another one of those hocus-focus features of programming languages. It wasn't until I got into NIIT and realized the true motives of the methodology. Ever since, I have been awed by the benefits it provides. I would have switched my focus to C/C++ type languages but then I came across the (then) recently released VB .NET 2005 Express Edition IDE. It was such a major advancement to VB that I fell in love with it. With the addition of full Object Oriented support, VB could finally go head to head with other languages.

I remember m^e telling me to go for C# because it was said to be more powerful than VB .NET but I never really went for it. That was until the language was included in our curriculum. Learning it wasn't that hard considering the prior experience with both C++ and VB .NET. There were certain differences in building GUI applications (like the need to manually instantiate the forms in C#), lack of the immensely helpful My object, etc. But it was still pretty easy.

Then JAVA was due in our second semester. It was another one of those things that I didn't want to learn (infact it still is), but had to learn. I like certain aspects of JAVA but still .NET is my prefered platform.

I learned PHP from w3c.org and ever since have become quite good at it. I haven't been a big fan of SQL but again NIIT forced us to learn it. It came really handy when I started using MySQL database for my website. I have been improving in Javascript ever since m^e introduced me to AJAX. As of now, Internet Programming has become my main focus. Even most of my Desktop applications are either Internet based or Internet enabled.

Coming back to the two categories of programming languages, here are somethings I like/dislike about them:-

C/C++

+ {s and }s for marking code blocks. Its much better than the Begin and End we have in VB.
+ The ; has almost become synonymous with this type of languages. Initially annoying as it was, I now find the language incomplete if we had to use VB style CrLfs for seperating lines.
- Double Equal Tos for comparing, even though I don't get confused with = and == anymore.

VB/VB .NET

+ Closer to English. (Having to use the Is and IsNot operator for objects, OrElse, AndAlso operators are all much more realizable)
+ MOD operator in place of %. Again, one of those things much closer to real life.

QUOTE

Does anyone wanna recommend a language?

You should try VB .NET, even if for the sake of the greater lot who are masters in it.

moonwitch

Jan 20 2008, 04:41 PM

I don't know to be honest. I had 2 yrs of Object Pascal (Kylix/Delphi), bash scripting, PHP in school.

For just an idea, I learned some Flash actionScript

And while I never paid much attention to php in school, I saw myself wanting to learn it for my site. Currently I am heavily into Lua for WoW addons, though I am not sure if Lua is an actual programming language. I do see resemblances to php and C++, in which I've dabbled for a while. I did study some Java, but due to a poor course (Jeigh knows about this) I gave up on it. I think he said even he, while already knowing Java, couldn't understand it lol.

One thing I have major issues with in lua, the ; to finish a sentence, for some obscure reason it's not needed, while it can be used but often makes code error in wow

Does anyone wanna recommend a language?

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