Programming

I think I was 11 or 12 when I started plaxing Tibia (a very early MMORPG). I really enjoyed it. At some point I found out that somebody has leaked the source code. You could host your own Tibia server. You could create new map segments or introduce new quests by Lua scripting. There was a huge community for "Open Tibia", hundreds of servers with thousands of players. First, I got into mapping, then I got into scripting and loved it.

It started with typing in BASIC code out of magazines. Used an Apple II those days. I missed the step going into pascal, C etc and stuck with basic syntax more or less my whole life. Not spagetti code anymore but still some BASIC derivates. B4X is what I use on Android now to create native APK.

Also I love IDEs with an integrated graphical interface designer. VB6 was my thing.

Over the years I used assembler, sql, bash also but always as tools to get my hardware to do what I need. The software I wrote was/is for my own convenience at work and in private. Written for PC and Android.

I tried to go commercial one time but the lawyer I talked to shattered my dreams because of insurance requirements when you write software used in peoples air transport business. If something goes wrong you really have a problem.

My Android software uses databases filled with scraped data so can't make them official as well. The royalty fees to pay if I try the official route kills every attempt before starting.

So it's still a hobby, very satisfying but not more.

Edit: scraped not scrapped , LoL

I worked as a network engineer and got pretty frustrated working with outdated applications that were not user friendly. Once I became a supervisor, a large part of my job became writing and generating reports summarizing events that happened on the network that no one would ever read. I wanted to learn programming to automate the things I hated about my job.

I'm still an engineer, not a developer, but I enjoy writing user focused programs that reduce or eliminate worker frustration. As with many jobs, it's not the networking that's difficult, it's all the other bullshit you have to do.

Also, learning how to parse, model and visualize data can really help you make your point to your management and get your ideas pushed through. Also a great way to earn brownie points with your bosses, as managers tend to love graphs.

Wish I could say it was a passion for me but I really learned out of necessity.

Getting old, "broken" computers running Linux was the first thing when I was about 11 or 12 years old. Then:

1. needing a way to keep them running
2. wanting ways to make running them easier
3. wanting those ways to be easier/simpler

Often this involved programming. Eventually I found out that companies pay money for this kind of thing.

But now I'm finding it difficult to find work which aligns with those original values. Getting paid means delivering what people will pay for, not necessarily solving problems. What got me into programming is probably what will get me out of it (profesionally, anyway).

The realization that games are made by humans and that i can become a game developer

Similar for me - I've been writing scripts since I was young. I write scripts and programs for myself whenever I need them, and I feel like it's a great skill to have in your toolkit if you're a computer power user.

On a side note, I've never thought of a good response for this question when someone looks at my career and my salary and they're like "I wanna do what you do", because I've been doing this as long as I can remember. I don't know how realistic it is to tell someone who's never been interested in computers that they can be a programmer if they really try.