Off Topic Discussions

[Vynski]

Could not fit this into any existing label.  Although it is a necessity for a computer to operate and perform specific tasks.

I see many problems concerning a wide range of causes, but yet I get the impression that far too many users do not understand coding (programing) at all.  Just asking if you would list the computer languages you are knowledgeable in.

I'll start with mine:

1. SAS  The language I learned programing on .
2. SPSS  Very similar to SAS and the transition was relatively easy.
3. PASCAL   Learned and taught (both secondary and post secondary} on PASCAL 5 then PASCAL 7.
4. BASIC  Learned and used it a lot in the early 1980's.  It had many limitations.
5. dBASE  Had and may still have the 1000 page manual for this one.
6. FORTRAN  Considered this one the "White Elephant" of languages.

So much I have learned and now forgotten.  All were self taught with the aid of the user manuals.  There are well over 200 various languages most of which use similar commands with various syntax.

I feel that some experience in coding would enable a great number of users to understand why their computers go bonkers at times.  Any game, application, or driver installed can cause these issues.

Always keep this in old adage in mind with your machine concerning "driver updates".

"IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT"

Thanks for your time and for replying.

[BigAl01]

I learned MS-Basic, Pascal, Assembly, Fortran77 and I've taught myself enough HTML to be dangerous.  I was in university during the early to mid 1980's, when personal computers were becoming necessary and you had to learn things like Fortran77 to support the numerical analysis class in engineering.  I think I learned Pascal on Apple IIe computers.  As you suggest, people need to learn at least one computer language to understand what's happening under the hood of the apps they use.

[Vynski]

In the mid to late 80's I did some hacking, nothing big or vengeful, although I could have been.  Our little group just mainly hacked software for our own use.  I had a device soldered to my disk drive where you could write to sectors that standard drives could read from but not write to them.  That's where thy stored the checksums for their products. But that interest died when hackers started doing terrible things.  Our big kick was to see how small of a footprint we could make a hack with.  This was back in the days of DOS.  I knew 6.2 like the back of my hand, and the other day I struggled with it while I was in the command prompt. 

I tried the HTML and just lost interest in it.  Maybe I was just burned out.  

I am just curious to see how many of the users know anything about programing. 

Wasn't there a Visual Basic at one time?  God I love computers.😋

[BigAl01]

Sounds like you need to learn a modern language.  I did take a crack at C++ once, but I lost interest in that.  I think I'm more of a hardware guy.

[Vynski]

They all have the same commands to perform, perhaps different syntax.  I have not interest in it anymore.  

In the mid 80's I, by myself, coded a Farm Record Keeping System application the mirrored the Illinois Farm Record Book.  It was double entry, but I programmed it to let the computer perform the second entry.  At last count it contained over 40,000 lines of code.  It was mainly for the Commodore 64 / 128 computers.  I used BASIC, Assembly, Machine, and some binary.  This is where I get off on the gaming programmers.  They have basically 2 GPU's to write the proper code and make sure it runs correctly.  With the application I developed there were over 30 printer manufacturers that I had to alter the code to work on their machines.  I used basically the same sub routine for each and made minor changes in the code specific for that printer.  Then based on the printer, it would test a relationship and call up that subroutine.  The major problem was; When did Commodore go out of business? (Hint: late 80's).  Oh well.  Time wasted.🤔

[Vynski]

You are aware that C, C+, and C++are all derivatives of PASCAL. 

I guess the last tasks of programming was when I had created a Quattro Pro (LOTUS format) spreadsheet for contract negotiations.  Once negotiations were over the opposing attorney wanted to know where we got the program and if it was available for EXCEL.  Well it was a Royal nightmare making the changes needed to get that working on EXCEL.  It goes back to that syntax and format.  

You know all of the years I did programming the errors I hated to see on the output were SYNTAX ERROR: line xxxx.  Formatting errors were pretty much straight forward and easy to identify.  

[bobpi]

I learned BASIC on a PDP 8/e minicomputer hooked up to a teletypewriter terminal with paper tape storage in High School in the '70s. Then I learned FORTRAN and COBOL at Georgia Tech using batch punch cards to a line printer. I also played Colossal Cave Adventure on the video terminals there.

Then I got an Apple IIe, then an Apple III which I mainly programmed a bit at first (where I picked up 6502 machine language). 

After that I got an Amiga which I hacked a bit in hardware and software (kickstart disk) to add extra memory (so I picked up 68000 machine language there).

After Commodore buried that, I finally went "IBM Compatible" around the Pentium 233/Windows 95 era even though I hated the way Intel chips did things with interrupts and using a little endian format. I did poke about a bit with assembly and X86 machine language but it always gave me a headache.

I am now up to a FX9370 /  RX5500XT&2RX580s / Windows 7 with multiple monitors and a raid array (Plus a second similar computer to back it up to). Haven't been programming for a while now.

I need to build a new system but I loath Windows 10/11 and I don't see Linux as a viable option.

[Vynski]

The last time I used punch cards was about 1981-82.  Had the mainframe punch a backup set of cards after I had made some changes in my dissertation.  However the mainframe did not print any indication what was on those cards.  At that time frame, punch cards were becoming extinct and when I ran the set of cards through the card reader it ate several of them, and the university was not going to repair any of the readers.

Programming is one of those "If you don't use it, you lose it" kind of thing.  Languages you once knew like the back of your hand, you struggle with today.  Programming is also an art and talent.  You have to really, really be committed.  You have a tendency to crawl inside that machine and get lost in the task at hand.  When you start a subroutine at 7 pm and suddenly realize it is 2:30 am and you have to go to work at 5:30 am the novelty wears off.  One thing I never forgot was to place markers to return into the abyss.

At 73, I just don't have that commitment anymore.

[BigAl01]

Yes, it was the same time frame for me too, meaning 1981-82 for using punch cards.  We had print on the top of the cards and I used to make 'Computer Card Christmas Cards' for my friends and family.  They were just meant to be flicked from front to back with your fingers as you read the message.  A waste of resources I know.

Once I started working at Hughes Space & Communications Division, we had TSO terminals tied to the mainframe at their facility.  I'm not sure how they linked in remote terminals from other nearby buildings, but it probably involved some sort of modem device. 

[Vynski]

I just knew them as "dummy terminals".  At least that is what the department was calling them.

[Wally_AMD]

For a brief period (when I thought I wanted to be a programmer), I took a C++ certification course before realizing it just wasn't for me.

Math is hard, and my brain could not function with problem-solving that way... 😅

[jamesc359]

That's okay, it's definitely not for everyone! There's days when I question the sanity of venturing into programming.

[jamesc359]

I learned Python first, later I branched out into C and I can hack together some decent looking Javascript and PHP. Python will always be my favorite though. 🙂

[rdenmon]

Of course I can HTML/ Basic/ I have tinkered with Python and realized how cool it is- still need more skills. I have never got that deep into it but it can be fun.