How Did You Get Started in Software Development?


Tim Barcz called me out to tell how I got started in software development...

How old were you when you started programming?

If you count HTML i was a senior in high school. I took a class that taught web design and I absolutely couldn't get enough of it. As much of a slacker as I was, I would actually stay after school to keep working on my web page. By the end of the class, my site was complete with javascript rain, a bgsound of lightning crashing and right smack in the middle was a picture of my red Ford Thunderbird... :-)

What was your first programming language?

If you count the above, it was HTML... but if you want to know the first language I got paid to write with, it was classic asp.


What was the first real program you wrote?

I was actually a computer networking major in college but I worked at John Deere as a software developer. My first real program was for Deere called S.A.U for Software Acquisition Utility... (On a completely unrelated note, I also graduated from S.A.U. St. Ambrose University. :-)) S.A.U. was a classic ASP app that pulled available software installation scripts from a SQL db and displayed them to the user. When the user chose a scripted install (like MS Office or UltraEdit) S.A.U. would then, after checking for appropriate licensing, add their computer name to an SMS collection to be managed later. If the enterprise had unlimited licensing, S.A.U. did a just in time install. If there wasn't enough licensing, there was an approval process that our asset manager could use to allow the computer name to be added to the SMS collection.



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

Without a doubt!



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

I would tell them to look at a programming as more than a means to a paycheck and an ego trip. It needs to capture your genuiune interest and especially your passion. From there, the sky's the limit.


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


I have a lot of fun when I get to watch one of my apps make someones job a lot easier and more enjoyable. It's a great feeling...

I would love to hear from Kathleen Dollard and Jason Bock