how did you get into dev (for those inclined to do so)?

[tmo]

I asked this initial on a small forum/blog platform I use called `Midnight Pub`. I asked the members (or patrons as we call ourselves) over there how they got into development or/and web development (if they are inclined to do so in the first place).

I revised the Q for this forum, because I am very interested in what spurred anyone to delve into development of any kind (hardware, software, retro, mobile, Web, etc).

And if one is *not* privvy to development, what got you into computers initially?

Here's the question and my story, in full:

I am curious about the tech savvy patrons of the Commander X16 forum (which is likely many of us, though no trouble if one is not) about how they got into (web) development, or perhaps just computers, in general?

I started to learn web development in 2020. Since the late-90s I *wanted* to learn *something* with code, servers, and even the elusive "command line" I kept hearing about. I didn't know WHAT people were talking about, but I would graciously inform them that "you are smart" when they spoke of it, and that "I wish *I* knew what that stuff was". Well, I wasn't gonna stand courtside and play Techie Admirer forever, so I decided to pick up on the hobby/craft in 2020. Everyone was on lockdown due to COVID, and I was in quarantine, as well, with initial COVID.

For a while, on Write.as[/tmo], I had wanted to talk to people, exchange messages, and there was no comment system to speak of on W.a at that time. And I didn't want to make my e-mail public, so I slapped together a Carrd.co contact form called `Thanx.cc` and made the whole thing look Web-app-y. People asked me how they could create an account with "Thanx", and if it cost anything. Literally 9 out of 10 e-mail exchanges I had over a three month period (Jan-Mar 2020) mentioned how they liked Thanx. Being someone who always liked the "maker community" and "indie devs" and "digital nomads", etc, I knew a rule of thumb they all mention in regards to making a successful product - user vindication of the service. If no one wants to use it, it won't take off, so don't spend too much time on a project with no future. Thanx already had "user" (or e-mail sender" USEFULNESS "vindication", so I decided to go ahead and lease a Linode.com VPS and start trying "the web dev thing".

I still didn't know what a CLI was. I had never heard of SSH. I poked and proded the Linode Dashboard and Activity Settings and everywhere I could to find what (essentially) I thought would be a "theme editor" like some Tweeny bopper would utilize on Tumblr to paste in some HTML, but I didn't find such a section. I had to go to the CLI, the terminal on my Chromebox, via Linux (beta) apps on Chrome OS in order to "do stuff".

Ok, how? I had to get TO the VPS using "SSH". And then it was two days of researching SSH - what is it? What does it DO? Is it it's own software/company? Are there alternatives? What is the answer to life? etc. It's like I had to know the hieroglyphic epistemology of the actual LETTERS "S" "S" "H" in order to move forward. So I said "this is the thing that works, fxxx it let's go".

Then I was in like a Flint. I set my PW on Linode, and I was "IN" the VPS, but then wtf? I needed something to access files to write my newb-savvy "code" (basically copied HTML/CSS/ and some JS), so I had to find an editor. I settled for "nano editor", which I still use today, because it is straight forward, and began to put stuff in each "file/folder".

And on and on and on and on I learned and toiled until a year (or more?) later, I had a quasi functional web app (thanx.cc) with log-in capabilities (UN/PW/e-mail), as well as a landing "profile" page, and eventually digging in to .htaccess "ModRewrite" rules to have the handy dandy "thanx.cc/@username" feature, as to not have it be "thanx.cc/profiles/@username".

In the end, I scrapped Thanx.cc, itself, because I lost drive for THAT project, and just wanted to get to hosting open source software, and someday write something (complete) on my own.

Always learning though. Always having fun.

How about you?

[TomXP411]

I was 10 years old, and my elementary school added something new to the school library: several Commodore 64 and VIC-20 computers. 

I sat down at one, picked up the manual, and started following the directions to write a program. I was hooked. That night, I told my parents I wanted a computer. They told me "well, you can buy your own, if you can earn the money."

Which I did. It took me some time, but by the end of the school year, I had the money to purchase my very own Commodore VIC-20 computer. The folks took mercy on me and pitched in for the cassette recorder and TV set, although the TV eventually took over as the living room TV when the old one finally died...

I've been hooked ever since.

[tmo]

nice @TomXP411! ?

I tried my best to get the folks to get me a computer (of any kind) starting in the late-80s', and it was a no-go (most likely due to price + I was very young). So, it wasn't until 97/98 that I got a Gateway 2000 (or, everyone in the household had one to share).

Do you remember what you paid for the VIC-20? I'm curious what they went for when they were "new".

[TomXP411]

On 10/27/2022 at 10:38 AM, tmo said:

nice @TomXP411! ?



I tried my best to get the folks to get me a computer (of any kind) starting in the late-80s', and it was a no-go (most likely due to price + I was very young). So, it wasn't until 97/98 that I got a Gateway 2000 (or, everyone in the household had one to share).



Do you remember what you paid for the VIC-20? I'm curious what they went for when they were "new".

I think I paid $79 for mine. The VIC-20 had been out for a couple of years, by that point, and the Commodore 64 had also come out, so the VIC-20's price was lower, thanks to the bigger C64 being on the market.

 

[tmo]

Wow, that was likely very affordable circa 1987/88 when I was suggesting one for the house. A computer, that is. I didn't know dollars from dimes in terms of *what* each one *was* at the time. haha

Never dug too deep in terms of getting one, though. Not then. I think I and everyone was ready for a PC when the mid-90s rolled around though. And 97 we felt late to the game, then.

[Edmond D]

In Grade 7 I got to use the single PET in the back of the math class for educational games (Hammurabi, math drills, ect during class, space invaders during lunch.) I did a little programming. One Christmas my father bought the family a VIC-20. I played and watched (3 brothers plus Dad) a lot of Omega Race, but I started to type in the programs in the user guide. I soon had the reference guide to read, and spent may life savings on a dataset ($100 Cdn) so that I could save programs. Several copies of Compute magazine were bought and read, plus some books that they published.



I also had a friend who's dad had a mainframe terminal with a 300 baud acoustic coupled modem. Many hours were spent playing Zork. 



The high school I went to had PETs, including a SuperPet which gave me a background in more than just BASIC. I had friends with various other platforms (Apple, Atari, Tandy) so I was exposed to a wide range of different systems (and games?.)  

That got me into development, with as a hobby and a profession. I was a teen and I was hooked. Probably like most people I've specialized in some areas but have experience with a wide range of "technology." Keeping up with everything these days is impossible, so I focus on what's fun, such as the X16 project. I can't imaging my life without computers....

[tmo]

Cheers to that @Edmond D!

That's great that you had access to a wide range of systems at a young age! Also, I don't think too many people's dads have mainframes, anymore. Haha ?

And yep, X16 IS fun! Can't wait!

[Edmond D]

On 10/27/2022 at 4:33 PM, tmo said:

Cheers to that @Edmond D!



That's great that you had access to a wide range of systems at a young age! Also, I don't think too many people's dads have mainframes, anymore. Haha ?



And yep, X16 IS fun! Can't wait!

Yes - I believe I've familiarized myself & programmed in nearly 50 languages over the years. Commodore BASIC V2 was my first.

My friend had a terminal which we used to call up a government-owned computer. The school I went to also had a terminal which I used, and even in university I was connecting remotely.

I've got a friend who probably has every PDP ever made. I helped him scrap over 50 DecWritter IIs for parts; it had a nice rotary encoder in it - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DECwriter

My BBS days were on a PC?. Now we have the internet and too many sources/choices. Remote computing lives on in a new form ....



Unfortunately we have to wait for the X16. Until then I hope others post on how they got into computing.



 

[Roy Eltham]

I was 10 when I got a new Atari 2600 for Christmas. Playing games on there (and in the arcades) made me want to be able to make my own video games.

When I was 12, I had access to an old CP/M workstation with MS BASIC via a school program, and I learned BASIC via typing in programs from BYTE magazine and then modifying them. Later that year, I saved up over time and got a Timex Sinclair 1000 via Lay away at K-Mart, it was on it's way out, but it was all I could afford.  I started trying to write a game for it, but mostly just made simple test programs and simple stuff. Maybe 6 months later a friend of the family gave me a hand me down VIC-20 (they had gotten a C64), that's when I started learning 6502 ASM, writing out ASM on paper to figure out the bytes to plug into a BASIC program and then run.  I also made a working breakout game for it. A couple years later when I turned 14, I got a C64 for my birthday (it was $99 on sale). This was also when I got into the local BBS scene (we had several where I grew up), and this is where I really started to learn more large scale programming, including writing a BBS that a friend and I ran on his C128.  I eventually got my own C128 and later an Amiga 500, which is when I started learning C/C++.  I learned everything from books, magazines, and BBS postings/chats.

In 1993 (age 23), I managed to get a job as an entry level programmer for a small gamedev company in the SF bay area, and I still do gamedev programming today (will be 30 years in May next year).

I'm really enjoying diving into the CX16 with the prog8 language.  

Along the way I also picked up electronics as a hobby, and have programmed for a number of small MCUs and have built up circuits and even made a couple simple PCBs. I have a bunch of small robots (built from kits, some with customizations), including a bunch of Mindstorms LEGO stuff (the original version), I did a bit of programming for that using this custom language some dude developed so you didn't have to use the block visual programming stuff. 



Also, I still have my beat up old SX-64 (friend gave it to me in the early 90s), an Amiga 2500, and a bunch of retro consoles. 

[kelli217]

On 10/27/2022 at 6:50 PM, Edmond D said:

I've got a friend who probably has every PDP ever made.

Even a PDP-10?