Indeed, hello, multiple worlds! (As I mentioned in one of my posts on the Welcome thread, I have now moved past "Hello, World!" in several programming languages.)
At age 78, soon to turn 79, I don't consider myself much of a software "developer." I'm more of a software hobbyist. Anyway, who's hiring developers born during World War II?
I retired from software technical writing 14 years ago after working for several large telecommunications companies. I used to write hardware and software manuals and training courses and even tested some hardware and software. But that was long ago, in a younger universe...far, far away behind me.
Over the past few years, however, I have been using software "development"--at the hobbyist level--as a way to help keep my aging brain alert, alive, and open to learning. In my own mind, at least, that daily tinkering seems to be working.
I'm now in the process of learning how to get better at working with several software languages and frameworks. I also occasionally write online reviews of beginner-level software books. One other part of my learning process is to find relatively easy software projects, try them out, and attempt to make minor modifications that work (or blow up). I jump from one thing to another as my interests change, so skill-wise I tend to remain just a few steps above "Hello, World!" while I keep collecting more languages and packages to play with. Yes, I know. Definitely NOT the best way to develop any depth in my abilities.
I'm trying to change some of that now, if only to pare down the number of "how to" binders and books currently stacked on my shelves. In short, I'm narrowing my focus a bit. For the near future, I intend to just center my attention on...Java, JavaScript, Rust, Python, C#, .Net, Angular, PostgreSQL, Go, Spring Boot, Haskell, and one or two others I can't seem to remember at the moment.
Anyway, as Buzz Lightyear never said: "To infinite loops...and beyond!"
(Cover photo by Si Dunn)
Top comments (2)
Wow, Sir, you are an inspiration.
I recently joined Dev.io a few days ago. I was lost and staring at my home page until I decided to check out the Welcome thread, where I discovered you. I can't think of anyone else better than you to be one of the first people I follow on this platform.
Thank you very much for the kind comments. I am pleased to follow you back, and I am enjoying this site and learning new things from the DEV community.