I’m just a amateur programmer learning my craft from north east United States. I started with an interest in computers and eventually programming at a young age, began by fiddling with Batch scripts (typical story) and touched on JavaScript (don’t want to think about it anymore), but my first steps in a “true” programming language was with BASIC dialects, notably Microsoft QuickBasic on MS-DOS 6.22, as I also developed an interest in virtual machines. I eventually migrated away from Windows to Linux due to increasing dissatisfaction with the former and even through the transition and operation of the latter wasn’t entirely sunshine and rainbows, I do not regret it in the slightest.
I eventually moved to Visual Basic as it was more modern but retained much of the syntax and structure, but I found it was sort of a dead end. I moved to C# as I was vaguely aware it was basically a more modern version of the C family, but I was still stuck in the Batch/BASIC style of coding, linear and procedural. Everything was in the main function and the only way to make loops or branching logic I knew of was with goto statements. It was discouraging and I was losing interest and confidence, not to mention that I didn’t have any ideas of what to make, so I couldn’t practice.
My first explorations in “proper” programming was with Java when I made a very basic Minecraft mod for my high school final project. Although the code was admittedly terrible and I had virtually no clear understanding of the language and its OOP paradigm, it triggered a desire in me to continue learning more. I slowly but surely improved and found a joy in creating new things, even if it’s difficult to complete. Despite Java being a bloated and cumbersome language for some, lacking many lower-level features that I have come to appreciate in my other projects, I can never truly hate or even dislike it, because it’s what finally got me on track with my programming skills. It also helps that it has been a reliable go-to (pun not intended) language for virtually anything I’ve wanted to make.
I also branched out to learn some C/C++ and again found new joys in writing code and satisfaction in being able to have greater control of low-level actions on the computer. I’ve mostly written test programs, benchmarks, and tried porting over one of my Java programs to C++ so far, but each project helps me learn more. While I still can’t figure out make or CMake or whatever else they have come up with, I’m still determined to continue.
I must also say, I’ve become fond of the concepts in cryptography, much to the ire of those around me. As seen on the main page, I have a PGP and Minisign, but I also use age if the situation is appropriate.
Learning by just jumping right into it isn’t exactly how I imagined I’d learn the most about programming, but that’s how it happened. It’s definitely not the most ideal solution, probably, but I’ve made it this far, somehow.
Check this page for projects I’m currently working on, it’s not updated super frequently because I’m likely busy working on one of them, but it may help you get an idea of what I’m probably doing.
Hardware
I’m not exactly rich, especially in this economy, but I’ve managed:
- PC: Lenovo ideapad 320
- CPU: Intel Core i5 7th generation
- GPU: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620
- HDD: 1tb Western Digital Blue, external 3.5”
Software
I’m pretty basic:
- OS: Kubuntu 22.04 (but would use something Void if I got another computer)
- Browser: Firefox
- Terminal: Konsole
- IDE: (Reluctantly) IntelliJ for Java, Neovim for C/C++
More to Come???
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