My Programmer Journey


I started programming at an early age. Heck, I was just a kid then and picked up an interest in QBASIC. But BASIC was just too primitive for my liking so I turned to C and C++. The major problem I had then was no internet access or even a laptop. Then owning a laptop meant you were working in a bank. Those were the days of Nokia 3310. So I learned how to code on paper and pen. No stack overflow nothing but a textbook and an exercise book were I wrote and copied and studied source codes of C programs.

Then I met Java.

Java was the rave of the moment at the time. Being able to code in Java back then was sure to land u a job in Aso Rock. We used to see Java developers like hackers then. All the hype about C++ just faded into Oblivion. There were two types of programmers in the world then. Java Programmers and everyone else.

Then I developed a love for Linux. I had bought a laptop and installed Debian Wheezy. It had a whole lot of compilers. Fortran, and COBOL, C, C++, even Lisp, and Haskell. I had pascal and python and Java on my Linux machines. I dabbled with system administration. I learned how to configure Apache and set up dns servers on Linux. I had become a Linux guru. I learned Java so well that I started coding in x86 Assembly language just kill my boredom. I had nasm and gas and even Tasm. Such was the power of Linux.

Then the unthinkable happened. My laptop got stolen. That's how I lost touch with my Linux skills. The trouble of downloading a new distro as opposed to buying a 300 naira pirated windows CD brought me back to the world of windows. No more bash shell no more terminal no more gnome. A 300 naira CD seemed a lot cheaper than downloading 2GB of unadulterated linux.

So my journey truly began with Java. Java was my first professional language. All my serious jobs were done using Java. Then we used swing for desktop and JSP for web. I dabbled with android for a while using KitKat. Java was a truly full stack language. Web, desktop, and mobile. And that's why I loved Java. It was truly a universal language

Then came Python.


Being a Java enthusiast I nearly always looked down on languages that did not use curly braces. It came from my C experience. If it does have braces then it's trash. That's why I hated BASIC and VB. That's why I hated Python. At least at first.

One thing I didn't like about Java was it was too strongly typed and too verbose and rigid. It was not flexible like python or php. When I started taking a look at Python I liked the fact it was simple like Basic and interpreted. I did not have to wait for long compiles to see my changes take effect. Also what really made me love python was django web framework. When I saw how much less code I needed in python to do an equivalent task in Java I knew the days of Java was gradually ending. Python is really a simple and mature language. I have finally turned from being the Java man to a Python man.

So after 20 years of programming what can I say? I've been coding for 20 years going from a different language to another and I am quite surprised that many organizations still ask for professional experience before employing developers. Programming was and is as always a HOBBY to me. So in terms of a profession portfolio or experience I never had any cos I never coded for money. I was entirely self taught. Back in those days no one even asked u for ur portfolio. If u could code then u could code .I never saw the need to go for certifications cos true hackers and true programming is done in the "street" not in a classroom or a corporate office but at home on ur laptop while u are living on biscuit and mineral cos there's no time to cook a decent meal and telling yourself to remember to take a bath after not bathing for two days because u have been coding. That is the type of programmer I am. I am not into open source but j support free software movement though not open source. Just hoping I would see my dream programming job. Seriously looking for one. I dropped my CV. I am telling my story here cos I cant do so under a corporate setting wearing a suit and a tie, sweating even though the AC is on. Answering unnecessary questions from a bunch of interviewers who are just interested in ur github account and ur linkedIn profile without even knowing how strong ur passion is for programming.

I love programming and sincerely I never coded for money before but if there's any job I would very happy doing then it's programming.

@seadog2000 phython is strongly typed! Although dynamic in nature.

It was good reading your experience though.

What are some of the things you've created in your programming journey..... People are definitely going to ask for what you have done before or your github repo. Abi u delete what u have coded after coding it?

I have similar story...but I do put 4 years experience (because in the business world, only industrial experience is counted) instead of 10+ years.

Thats not cool but that's how they do it.

Millz404:
What are some of the things you've created in your programming journey..... People are definitely going to ask for what you have done before or your github repo. Abi u delete what u have coded after coding it?

Trust Nigerians to abuse something they don't know much about. GitHub is primarily used for version control and it is not the only tool obe can use. Netbeans allows u to use mercurial as well. It was not designed to show prospective employers references to ur work. Not every developer needs to use git. There's mercurial and SVN. People should stop this github nonsense cos it's annoying

Millz404:
What are some of the things you've created in your programming journey..... People are definitely going to ask for what you have done before or your github repo. Abi u delete what u have coded after coding it?

Exactly what I wanted to ask.
Romance with all the languages doesn't count. Projects you have built along the way is a very big deal.

seadog2000:



Trust Nigerians to abuse something they don't know much about. GitHub is primarily used for version control and it is not the only tool obe can use. Netbeans allows u to use mercurial as well. It was not designed to show prospective employers references to ur work. Not every developer needs to use git. There's mercurial and SVN. People should stop this github nonsense cos it's annoying

You shouldn't blame people for minding git. Git is the most popular version control tool around.

He's just trying to say that your story could have had more flesh if you mentioned some awesome stuffs you built in your journey. If I'm to hire you that's what I will be looking out for.

But awesome story you've got though. Tells how passion for something can be a driving force.
Bravo!

seadog2000:



Trust Nigerians to abuse something they don't know much about. GitHub is primarily used for version control and it is not the only tool obe can use. Netbeans allows u to use mercurial as well. It was not designed to show prospective employers references to ur work. Not every developer needs to use git. There's mercurial and SVN. People should stop this github nonsense cos it's annoying

Programming is a hobby to you so you don't understand what it takes to succeed in the programming work environment. Github was sold to Microsoft for 7.5 billion dollars so it stands out and has its worth among all those other stuff you mentioned. Moreover github is also a hosting service for codes.

Programming is a highly skilled job and there is no way you can say you know programming without building anything. Even freecodecamp requires you build a project for charity that you can use in your portfolio. There is also a reason why google do not demand a college Certificate to work with them. What you have done should stand in for that. Ogbeni if you have nothing to show you can code, NOBODY is going to take you serious let alone give you a job. Simple

Programming is my newly found hobby... please you guys should encourage me with kind words.
This section is my new home.

Currently building my programming orientation with ‘beginning programming for dummies 3rd edition’