It’s easy to forget that the digital age, and therefore the existence of computer programmers, still only spans a single lifetime, and one of the lifetimes it spans is my own. In my career as a commercial computer programmer I’ve experienced most of the changes in the programming world first-hand in all their frequent craziness. This memoir is an attempt to preserve those experiences for the historical record.
For myself and many others, commercial computer programming has been a rewarding career since at least the late 1960s and during that time the profession has seen massive changes in the way its practitioners work. The evolution of numerous different programming models and methodologies, the involvement of many extraordinary characters, endless ‘religious wars’ about the correct way to program and which standards to use. All of this was happening during a period of major cultural and social change which in many cases was a direct result of technology developments.
It would be a great shame if a new generation of programmers were unaware of the fascinating history of their profession, or hobby, and so I came to write this book. But hopefully it is written in a way that will also be of interest to what we might call the “Bill Bryson” school of general reader.
For myself and many others, commercial computer programming has been a rewarding career since at least the late 1960s and during that time the profession has seen massive changes in the way its practitioners work. The evolution of numerous different programming models and methodologies, the involvement of many extraordinary characters, endless ‘religious wars’ about the correct way to program and which standards to use. All of this was happening during a period of major cultural and social change which in many cases was a direct result of technology developments.
It would be a great shame if a new generation of programmers were unaware of the fascinating history of their profession, or hobby, and so I came to write this book. But hopefully it is written in a way that will also be of interest to what we might call the “Bill Bryson” school of general reader.
