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How did you get started in programming?

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Dave Hoover

Posts: 93
Nickname: dsrhoov53
Registered: Mar, 2004

Dave Hoover is the Lead Consultant for Obtiva
How did you get started in programming? Posted: Jun 7, 2008 10:13 PM
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This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Ruby Buzz by Dave Hoover.
Original Post: How did you get started in programming?
Feed Title: Red Squirrel Reflections
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Feed Description: Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development
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objo called me out, so I'm answering the questions.

How old were you when you started programming? How did you get started in programming? What was your first language? What was your first professional programming gig?

9, 13 and 25. When I was in grade school we were introduced to Logo, which was interesting, but since I could only play with it at certain times at school, I didn't get far with it. But it definitely sparked an interest. When I was in junior high we had an Apple IIe. I loved playing games on it, and when I saw the movie Tron, I was convinced that I would one day be a programmer like Flynn. I bought a book on Basic and tried to create some games on the Apple IIe, but mostly just keyed stories into code and had them print to the screen. I gave up when I couldn't create anything compelling. It was 1999 when I was wrapping up my master's degree in child and family therapy and I was fascinated by the internet and the way it was changing the world. My wife and I had just had our first child (who slept in the closet of our one bedroom apartment) and I was looking for ways to supplement my upcoming income. I taught myself enough HTML to secure a side job as a the Teen Advice guide at About.com. Over the next year I was a child and family therapist by day, and a HTML wrangler by night, and I began to realize that I really enjoyed the technical work. I was surprised that I could sit in front of a computer and feel energized. Dreams of Flynn flooded into the back of my mind and I decided to try programming full-time. I was hired by Edventions, a startup in Skokie, IL as a content editor. Over the course of the year I worked there, I taught myself Perl and I worked my way into the programming side of the business. And by late 2000, I had officially taken the red pill. I was completely hooked on programming, specifically Perl.

What was the first real program you wrote?

Most of my early Perl hacking was fixing bugs in or enhancing other people's CGI scripts. The first real program I wrote from scratch was lovingly called PGAS, the Perl Golf Administration System. Yes, for several months in 2002, I was the main instigator of monthly Perl Golf competitions. This is the first time I've stated that publicly, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

What languages have you used since you started programming?

  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • Perl
  • C
  • Ruby
  • C#
  • C++
  • Erlang
  • Scheme

If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?

Absolutely

If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?

Find opportunities to Be the Worst.

What’s the most fun you’ve ever had ... programming?

The first was in 2004 when I worked for ThoughtWorks. I was on a team that included Dave Astels, Obie Fernandez and Aslak Hellesøy. Though the weekly travel to Detroit was excruciating, working with those guys changed my career, and was a ton of fun.

The second was in 2007 at Obtiva. Our first full-time Software Studio project was madmimi.com. This project had many ups and downs, but working with the world-class Mad Mimi team and watching Mad Mimi come to life has been another career-altering experience.

Who am I calling out?

Read: How did you get started in programming?

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