Programming
I've come a bit of a strange way when it comes to learning programming. Have had an interest in learning a programming language for about as long as I've had an interest in computers. Early tastes of BASIC on the C-64 and other stuff like AMOS were mostly frustrating experiences. The main reasons for this being too young, unconcentrated and not having all that good material to learn from. On that level things remained for a long time. Then, one term at Rudbecksskolan I took this course in Visual Basic. Looking back, I can't recall much that stuck, but I must have learned something since I managed to get a pretty good mark ... Went in through one ear and out through the other at best ... So, that didn't really elevate me much programming-wise. The next step on the way, one which has stuck much better too, was learning HTML. I know, it's not programming. But learning it and using it to build pages lead to an interest in more advanced things, like how those JavaScripts worked. Still, I wasn't too good at finding the material I wanted, but I did get around to wishing for a book on C++ for christmas 1999.
C++
Even better, I got a book, and (here comes the big thing!) read it through. Pretty focused at first, then less and less concentrated as chapters got increasingly complex and I didn't do too much in the way of exercises. Had this idea of going through it once and then a second time even slower and doing all those exercises. Don't think there was any problem with the idea, apart from that I didn't really get to that second read ... Still, things were sticking, I was learning things I hadn't before and a few things I tried actually worked. I was also struck by the similarities between Java and C++, and found I could write some nice scripts which did what I wanted. By now, we're approaching the summer of 2000 and I get my job at Parkhallen. This means solid five day work weeks and no real drive to concentrate on anything difficult in the spare time. Any gained programming skills are dormant ...
Pascal
And so, autumn comes. And with it do university studies begin. Week 40, the first course is over and the course "basic programming" begins. That means Pascal programming, a language built for teaching good principles for further programming. It's kind of a revelation "Hey, I get this! This isn't so hard!". It's just like one of our teachers said (what a wise man!): everything is easier if you already know it. Basic thinking is the same in all programming, and a lot of other basic stuff as well. Should probably have started in this end, then perhaps I'd found C++ a lot easier. Anyway, it's cool to reach a level where you start to grasp things well. Feels so good ...
Is it Pretty Damn Difficult to Program?
Not really. It's just like lots of other things, once you get into it it's a lot easier than you thought it would be. Often, the best solution to a problem is one that is far easier than you thought, it's getting to the easy part that requires some work (have a feeling that might sound quite odd :-). Thinking in the right way from the start of a problem helps a lot, and that's probably the hardest thing. Damn, sounding like a teacher here, better stop now before it gets worse ...
A problem for me is of course my tendency to run out of steam when I hit the wall of an interface of any kind. That means having a nice idea that I want to try, and then sort of run out of motivation when I have to implement it. Need to work on that ...
