Dave Campbell and Jeff Paries called me out...
How old were you when you first started programming?
8 or 9.
How did you get started in programming?
My father worked for IBM and my parents bought the IBM PC when it first came out. We had like serial number 101. I can’t believe my father just threw it away (sigh). Before that we had an Atari 800 but I never did anything but play games on it.
What was your first language?
Basic. It showed up on the screen when you turned on the computer. It was written by Bill Gates. Lucky for me my parents sprung for the disk drive so you could actually save the programs you wrote. Otherwise when you turned off the computer, they went away…
What was the first real program you wrote?
A “Mad Libs” type game. It was either that or make a “Zork” adventure game that all the kids were doing. Understand we didn’t have graphics back then
What languages have you used since you started programming?
VB6, classic asp, VB.NET, C#
What was your first professional programming gig?
I was a webmaster for a BBS (this is before the internet as we know it today). We needed to create CGI programs to allow people to send us a message… did I mention this was before normal email as we know it today?
If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?
I would have started sooner and got serious sooner.
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?
Use Google. Practically all the knowledge in the world is available. You don’t have to be smart, just humble enough to ask for and look for help.
What's the most fun you ever had programming?
Working on DotNetNuke modules for tutorials. It’s weird to write programs where the only purpose is to explain something to others. Also working on SilverlightDesktop.net because it allows me to build a framework.
What's the most fun you've ever had... programming?
I hate to say it but yeah. I really need to get a life
Who are you calling out?