This year someone asked me: Why are you a programmer? How did you start to code?
I would love to share my answers but I’m going to start with the last one.
How I started programming
When I was about 10 or 12 years old -I don’t remember exactly-, we got the first computer at home and by then we didn’t have an Internet connection.
So when I wasn’t playing offline videogames I was looking the folders and applications in the OS: Windows 98. And one application of them was FrontPage.
Maybe you know it, it was a kind of IDE where you have basically 2 tabs: one where write code and another where to see the result or edit visually.
I didn’t have any idea about how to code, indeed I didn’t know what were these lines that appeared when I wrote something in the other tab.
That was the beginning. Then I started to read about HTML, pasted Javascript code from Internet like a snow effect and built my first site full of gifs on a free hosting.
Right now, it seems quite embarrassing -and I’m fully agree- but the takeaway from the story was to be able to learn what you like your way, no matter how old you are or the resources you have.
Why I am a programmer
I really love the feeling of create something. I know we are talking about abstract things that you can’t really touch except in a screen. But still it’s magic for me.
Create something by writing words and then it transforms to anything you can use, have fun or touch. And you can create whatever you imagine. It’s amazing, isn’t?
And you? Why are you a programmer? how did you start? Or why are not you a programmer?
