The "How you started Programming" thread

[Danny]

How did you first get into programming?

For me it was back in 2004 when I saw a post on Dcemu about someone making a game in Lua for the PSP. I previously had no idea how things were made so I downloaded the game and took a browse at the source code. I was immediately hooked, and started Lua scripting myself.

After around a year I decided to move onto bigger things, so I started programming in C/C++. After starting and abandoning a RPG, I took on the task of continuing my buddy HardHat's PSP port of Wolfenstein 3D. At that time it had no sound, basic controls, no support for the full or additional versions of Wolf3D, speed issues etc. So I took that from a basic port to a fully fledged Wolfenstein 3D experience on the PSP.

After that I decided since I used Lua when I first started out, I would improve the Lua Interpreter for the PSP. I have since added a ton of speed, additional features and improvements to that, and it is one of the most commonly used Lua Interpreters for the PSP this day.

I also made a homebrew game for PSP, Windows, Linux & Mac for the neoflash coding competition 2010 titled "Mario Fusion".

My most recent work has been on improving the Snes9x Port on the PSP, my branch is titled "Snes9x Euphoria". I have gone on to dramatically increase the speed, compatibility and overall user experience for that. Aside from PSP work, I have also released two iPhone apps. One a game named "Chuzlies", which is a physics puzzle game, and another app named "iSnooze' which is a free app designed to make you sleep at night.

So there is my story so far, whats yours?

 

[Grizzly]

I got into programming around 1997/1998. At around this time my brother lend a book from the library that told how to write games in Basic. We both had QuickBasic installed on our machines and first began to copy some of the games.
When we got it how to get input from the user and do something specific depending on the input we began to write our own text adventures in Q-Basic. I then learned how to use colored text blocks to make fancy graphics (just like ZZT) and later learned some routines to draw (optional filled) lines and circles on the screen. But I never got the hang to real time games, all my Q-Basic games were waiting for an input by the user and changed the graphics according to that input.

Then, for a long time, I did nothing programming wise until I got a programming class in school (2002). There I was taught how to program in RealBasic. I then was finally able to write some really helpful window applications for specific tasks. There were just two problems: Those programs were slow as hell and very big when compiled into an executable.
In 2005 I looked for alternative programming languages and heard of Java: apparently easy to learn. But because RealBasic was still Basic at its heart and this way I programmed in Basic for my whole programming life, I did not understand anything from the Java tutorials. Nowadays I cannot remember what my problem was - maybe I just used the completely wrong tutorial because it started by explaining various datatypes - but all those brackets, semicolons and function heads were very inaccessible for me. I gave up after reading for a few days.

In October 2006 I started university studies in computer science and got used to the concept behind programming languages. Learning new languages hasn't been difficult anymore since then. Although I am not a professional in any programming language, I acquired quite some basic knowledge in C++ and Java, besides some more scientific languages, and have used it for many small applications, mostly for image convertions or file listings.

But I've still got to learn how to do graphics and real time reactive systems for finally being able to write my own real game. A few months ago I started looking into SDL+OpenGL but the project's on hold at the moment. Well, there's still more than enough time for creating something, I suppose. :king:

 

[Azimer]

1994 - QBasic on my first computer. I had to know how it worked and the process set in motion everything I would start about a year later.

Fixed - 1994... not 2004. I've been coding for 17 years

 

[smcd]

I probably first started by modifying 'nibbles' and 'gorillas' qbasic games to have more lives, larger explosions, etc. After that, around 2000 or so I had a C++ course in high school, which was quite frankly crap... but it piqued my interest. I did it 'professionally' for about 3 years and got burnt out on the do-it-yesterday-for-half-the-budget-oh-and-add-these-5000-features-too mentality, and now only program what I want, when I want in my spare time

 

[Toasty]

In 2001 I got interested in what makes web pages tick, and I got into HTML and very soon thereafter, JavaScript. (Even wrote some scripts to solve those tedious quadratic equations we were doing in math class at the time.) Then probably in 2002 or 2003 I moved on to my first real programming language: Java. Once I'd gotten my head around that, it was easy to pick up on C#. C++ took me a little longer to grasp, and I didn't really just learn it at a certain time, but I've come to be pretty decent at writing it over the years.

 

[Cyberman]

I started programming on ye olde TS1000 which was a Z80 based machine in basic moved up to the Tandy Coco2 (6809B based) then the a VAX11780 and micro vax in college. By that time ye olde 386 was out as well. Yes that's a LONG time ago even for me. I've watched MSDOS come and GO and I wished Microsoft would have gone with it to be honest as Windows is definately NOT a good OS design and NT was OK at the start but polluted by Windows thinking since it's inception.

I could go on but what's the point? Windows is DATED, so it is retro now. It's time is gone (most PC people haven't realized it yet is all). No one knows what is next because the entire market has changed radically in the last 4 years. MS is now porting windows 8 frantically to ARM (read this as well) and is begging AMD and Intel to increase the core count and performance of there processors.

In the mean time I program small stuff (IE micro controllers) and slightly bigger stuff (beagle board OMAP5 looking good). I dabbled in PSX emulation in the early 2000's (wrote an MMX based software GPU it worked too LOL). I am currently working on a small change to PCSX drec system on the GTE and a more major change on the GPU side of things.

I've loved monkeying with computers since the early days of personal computers (I was a kid then) and now at the dusk of the PC (yes the PC is being replaced by application specific systems {tablet, Ipod, Iphone, set top} , who knows what is next).

 

[NibbleTwister]

Hi all!
Thought this is a nice thread to make an introduction as a new member.

Started programming on the C64 mid 80's in primary school: just copying source from a C64 mag and making slight mods here and there. GOTO statments made me go crazy and this is how I abandoned programming for a long time.

Got back into programming again about 10 years later: SNES and N64 made me want to become a games programmer/desinger/artist. Didn't have neither qualification nor talent for any of these aspirations. Confused ActiveX with DirectX but had my first liason with VisualBasic.

Managed to write some Pong, Arkanoid and Shooter games, a small tile editor and tile engine. Tried my luck at a point'n'click editor but failed at implementing a scripting engine. Chose a completely different university degree.

Came back to more serious programming through my job at a market research company: wrote small and larger 'macros' for MS Office, mainly Excel, PowerPoint and Acces.

Have been programming since then smaller programs here and there in VB.Net. Never had the discipline to put anything online though. Have been reading about state machines, regular grammars and virtual machines and found this to be extreeeeemly interesting and have set a new goal for myself: write an GB emulator in VB.Net.

I know I might be centuries late to GB emulation, however I hope to find likeminded people her who do not mind helping me and pointing me in the right direction (I know, gotta read the 'stickies' first and dont mind talking GB all day long.

Made a first start by writing a crude and simple HexViewer to view ROMs (I know there are free downloads, but this is how I learn); a rudimentary disassembler is on its way too.

Will most probably just stick to the programming section in here.

 

[lokii]

Long time ago when I was in high school.

 

[icepir8]

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I built a kit using the 8080a chip. lol then moved up to a ts1000 then TRS80 model3. funny how TR keep happening to me.

Now I program Win Mobile and Win CE devices for the RFID industry.

BTW working on a port of TR64 to C#. Also dusted off TR64ogl. Wrote XBox 360 Commander. lol

Hi Cyberman, we both been around for a long time.