I am taking up the Mike Eaton Challenge and documenting my programming history.

How old were you when you started programming?

I was 12 years old developing on an Apple II and TRS-80.

How did you get started in programming?

I bought a used Apple II and received a TRS-80 for Christmas roughly the same time.  I was fascinated by the games I could play and wanted to learn how they programmed them and to see if I could make a game or two just for fun.  My first game was a helicopter game styled similar to Defender (old arcade game).  Was fun but did nothing more than move around and shoot.  I was 12 and I thought it was very cool though.

What was your first language?

My first language was BASIC on the Apple II.

What was the first real program you wrote?

The first really real program I wrote was a program that determined the electrons in each shell inside an atom.  I wrote it for projects in both high school computer science and advanced chemistry.  My teacher actually took and let others use it and I think passed it around after that school year.

What languages have you used since you started programming?

I have used quite a languages through the years from jr. high school until now: BASIC, Pascal, Prolog, C, C++, Smalltalk, Lisp, Powerbuilder/Powerbasic, TSQL, PLSQL, Python, Object Pascal/Delphi, C# and probably a few I have forgotten.

What was your first professional programming gig?

My first real gig was working for ANATEC out of college.  I worked as a consultant in Detroit doing Powerbuilder and then Delphi programming.

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

Yes for sure.  Great hobby and career.  May have gone into different directions in my career but never regretted working in software development.

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

I would tell all developers to learn soft skills and get up to speed on the business side of software development.  Too many younger developers do not know how to communicate effectively with co-workers, bosses and the end users.  They also need to learn the costs and factors for estimating, planning and managing software development projects.

What's the most fun you've ever had programming?

The most fun may have been working on software for the start up I joined early on and working my ass off with a bunch of great people.  Working in a start up is the most fun any developer can have in my opinion.  Working for a new start up is like a new baby that you can watch grow up.