Props to Cam, a friend of mine, who’s going to be blogging about learning Ruby (on Rails). He’s 14 and this will be his first programming language, although he has been designing websites for a while now. Tonight, he said to me: “I think I have web standards pretty much sorted” but now he wants to start creating online applications. Cam writes:
In this blog I hope to document my progress on learning the language and get/give some help on learning this. Hope you enjoy reading. Cam.
*currently downloading ruby on my 56k Modem
If you’re a programmer, do you remember when you first picked up a language? If you have a moment, stop by Cam’s new blog and give him some encouragement… even it’s it just to persevere with the downloading 
While I’m reminscing about beginning to programme, I remember getting magazines from the UK with long BASIC code programmes at the back which I’d painstakingly type in line by line. I was probably about 8 years old. When I ran it I remember getting some sort of error message but sadly it gave me no clue as to where the typo was. I still persevered though. Just to see that tiny little baton whacking a couple of dots (ooh, look, it’s a ball!) around on the screen was worth the wait.
I also remember programming an address book for my family in some sort of database on a Commodore 64 when I was 12. And I remember programming a little turtle thing when I was 10? Must google that.
What are your first memories of programming?
your thoughts
sole
The turtle thing==logo!
I also started programming with logo although my “turtle” was just a little arrow which moved so slowly on an old amstrad green screen pcw!
I enjoyed making those funny graphics one could do with logo. With basic i liked to play with colours (as i had a new computer with color screen for testing it). Was funny.
Then turned to basic… later Pascal, C, php… but that’s another story…
Anne
My older sister and I wrote little BASIC programs on the Apple II that my Dad bought. Mostly we drew things on the screen and made them move around. I didn’t come back to it until after college, when I learned C for my stats M.S. That’s when I realized I wanted to program professionally.
My nine-year-old son has done a little bit of programming with MicroWorlds. I’m hoping my two younger daughters will get into it too as they get older.
Love your blog–the writing and the design.
greg606
It’s nice that you wrote about so distant memories. I’m in the similar age as you and have similar experiences which came to my mind during reading your post! Nice memories.
.
I remember marveling at animations of line using some mathematical constants and doing my personal databases of anatomical terms
I also remember my computer classes where I didn’t know anything as I haven’t got a decent computer to about 15 years old but I got it and I was pentium 386! Since then on I quickly become proficient and all we did during the classes was a way too simple for me.
As every one I started creating web pages in mid 90′s but I was as devoted to is as you so at the moment I’m graduating in psychology not web design as I might wish.
Since it’s my first comment in your blog I must praise your it. Every post is an inspiring read.
I wish you all the best!
Greg
Stephen
First program written in BASIC using a card-reader on an Apple II (1981!). Card reader allowed the whole class to share the computer as we all sat at desks with the cards, marking them with pencil, before collating them and running them through the reader. Editing meant fixing a card and rerunning them.
TI99/4a home computer programming too, though for a 16-bit CPU it’s BASIC interpreter was the slowest around. And then when I got to Uni FORTRAN using a teletype/display combo. You typed the program in on the screen, ran it and the results (including errors) came out on the printer in the lab. When we got PC’s running Turbo Pascal it seemed like heaven.
Ah, the kids of today. They don’t know how lucky they are.
sole
Do you really think they are lucky? they do not appreciate the machine’s magic… at least not as much as we did (do)