Hello World! My first two #healthydebate generated more than 4000 views and 100 comments! So I decided to create another debate, it feels so good to have interactions with other programmers!
I would like to thank @brandon_wallace for giving me the idea:
Another interesting question to ask would be "Why do you love programming?".
The questions are: Why do you started coding? What leads you to code every day? What did you find special about programming?
I'm very interested in creating a conversation / a debate thinking about why different peoples love to code. I also have in mind to use quotes from this post in my next writings. So I need you to tell us all the funniest things!
Remember the comment!
Check these articles about how programmers love to code / best operating system for dev
If you have other post ideas feel free to write a comment.
Subscribe to my Newsletter!
A loooong, and fun, weekly recap for you
Free PDF version of my articles
Highly customizable inbox
That's --> free <-- and you help me!
Top comments (30)
Oooh I like these questions.
I started programming in college. In the first year it was a general IT course which introduced everything in a broad concept, which included server management, programming and networking. Programming stuck with me and I went for that.
I do full stack development professionally. In my free time I don't code every day, but when I do it's because I either have a project ongoing or I make something just for shits and giggles.
For me programming is a creative outlet. Whether it's making something for myself or something my friends can also enjoy, it's just so satisfying to see the result.
ahaha
To shout "IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" when it works.
Exactly! I've just published a blog post that starts with "It's alive!" :D
It looks like it's a common occurrence among devs.
Lol true
Asking me why I love programming is like asking why the sky is blue. It seems pretty obvious, but still kinda hard to explain.
Edit: Whew, I think I accidentally described my entire life in that sentence!
❤
I think I share a lot of the same thoughts others have mentioned. For me programming is the perfect intersection between problem solving and creation.
My single biggest love with programming will always be the creative aspect. Programming has always reminded me of lego. I just get a ton of enjoyment out of building things. And there's this amazing feeling seeing your creations come to life. Never get tired of that feeling.
And there's always interesting problems to solve in programming whether professionally or as a hobbie, just so much fun.
I also love that it's at this interesting intersection with Mathematics. You can end up as both a theorist and an experimentalist in programming and I think that's a really cool aspect.
Then there's the domain aspect. Programming intersects so many domains and I think it's really cool that generally you also get partially absorbed into the domain in which you're working. And over a life time of programming you'll probably touch upon a bunch of different domains. I find it really fascinating to see the different problems in these various areas.
I feel like I could name a billion more reasons why I love programming, but I think the last I'll mention is the communities. There's always a ton of local meetups and online communities to be part of in programming and it just feels like there's so much passion and energy. I never get tired of that and I always look forward to connecting with people and growing as a both an individual and a community.
I really love the community part, particularly here at dev.to ❤
Also I think all of us agree to the problem solving aspect, it feels so good when it finally works. Coding is a real challenge.
If you're interested write here how do you love to code / you're personal coding story.
dev.to/devlorenzo/how-do-you-love-...
Cool! Yeh, I'll check it out. Thanks!
Quite good questions!
For the same reasons :
I started programming right on the cusp of the home computer revolution. The idea of having a computer in your house was this weird leap from the pages of science fiction into reality, and I was maybe 12 years old. I was very much part of the "If I want it to do something I have to learn how to make it do that" generation.
It wasn't until I got to college and got to study Joseph Weizenbaum's essay on "the compulsive programmer":
"The computer programmer, however, is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver. So, of course, is the designer of any game. But universes of virtually unlimited complexity can be created in the form of computer programs."
And I thought, "Wow, yes, that's it exactly." Something about programming switches your brain into a mode that says, "I am in complete control of the universe under my fingertips, I know exactly how to make it do what I need it to do." As I grew in my career (it's been 40 years) my description of "what I love and why I love it" went from "I love to code, coding makes me happy" (when other people were assigning me the problems) to "I want to add value to the world by providing solutions to problems, and the way I can do that is when I can convert the problem into something that can be constrained and described, and thus potentially solved, within a computer."
it's more like a reaction to my god complex, had quite a few hobbies when I was younger, Origami, Drawing, Card Tricks, all just with the reason that I control the outcome and that got addictive.
Was watching some movie and got really impressed with the hacker in it and this was somewhere in 2006, I started learning about cyber security, got into how hackers learn, got into ethical hacking courses, and by this time I already had a bit of practice with python and C (I just completed high school at this point)
Got into college and we get more time after college to spend on learning and here we are, a simple movie character made me into a programmer that's curious and a lot of times just ends up scripting and automating stuff just for the hell of it.
I still dream about being a hacker but I have a lot more fun programming little tools for myself so I stick to it day in and day out.
Only thing I wish is that I don't end up ruining my hands so I can code till I leave.
Did you know about this freecodecamp youtube course?
youtube.com/watch?v=3Kq1MIfTWCE
PS: I also had the magic trick hobbie for a year or two, it was so cool
Oh yes, I did start watching it a few months back but then went had to check in for work so skipped and never watched again.
Oh that’s nice!
Because of he god like feeling for sure. I like being able to built something from an idea to concepts shape it up to a design in my head and type until bring a solution to a real world problem it's priceless.
Sadly in enterprise those moments are limited.
I fell in love with computers at a very early age. I would build websites in high school. In college I took Intro to Computer Science and fell in love .
I enjoy solving problems and learning new things.
It's always exciting to get a piece of functionality working - especially if you struggled on it. I love that there is always something new to learn, and someone to learn from. ✌
I started coding like 5 years ago and now it has became like my second nature. I love it because of numerous reasons but the vital one and the most important one to me is the satisfaction after creating a project or the satisfaction of not getting an error after running the code 😅, It brings a smile to my face.
I like coding because it's a combination of logic problems and creativity. I could have a puzzle book of logic problems and work through them and that's fun. I can do some crochet and that's fun. Coding is the thing that fits them both together.
And then there's the feeling when you finally figure out why something doesn't work and it's like you're the most clever person in the universe.
If you want I'm really open for a partner / sponsorship but I'll ask you to not just only push your content whiteout a relation with the article.
If you want you can answer seriously the questions and then add your content
I started to code in 1993, I had an ATARI 800XL machine connected to our tele, and I had some cartridges most of them were games ( Space Invaders, Pacman, Missile Command etc.. ), I also had a cassette recorder to load also some video games on cassettes like King Kong, Zorro and Outlaw but my utmost pleasure was when I sit next to my father with a programming book in Basic language, he would open it and I start typing in Basic tens of lines code, and by the end of the program I type RUN and hit return, and I would see a flower is getting drawn with different colors on the screen ( more like in the turtle module in Python if you're familiar with it) -
It was magical moments
Since that day, I knew what I wanted to do for a living
My first coding adventure was scripting quests for Open Tibia Server back in ~2005. They were written in LUA but to be honest I don't really remember anything :D The next one was "clicker" program for game making - The Games Factory or Multimedia Fusion. No coding, just visual design and clicking conditions. I've spent a lot of time with them.
Now I'm a professional frontend developer with IT engineer degree and I really love my job. I love getting hard tasks and solve them. It satisfies me so much and is very rewarding on my account balance :D But more than money I love just this feeling when I tick tasks done on the board like asana or jira.
I was curious about how to build software since high school. At the beginning it was fun coding and learning at the university.
Thanks to all the years spent coding I was
able to get a job as developer, but as everything you have to commit while enjoying the road. There's only another thing I would love to do and it is related with languages also.