Become a Zuckerberg or childhood programmer
As a child, I dreamed of becoming Mark Zuckerberg. While my friends dreamed of the professions of pilots, doctors and astronauts, I planned to program the largest IT company. Mark Zuckerberg was not born yet, but I already wanted to be one.
I don’t remember when and when I first heard about computers. Most likely, these were the books of Cyrus Bulychev or Evgeny Veltistov. At that time, humanity had high hopes for computers, and many science fiction novels idealized the digital future. Few people saw computers live, so the first acquaintance with programming began with a pencil and a sheet of paper. I drew the algorithms, started the von Neumann cycle in my head and imagined how the delivered program is executed. All my algorithms worked perfectly and without errors.
Then I got a constructor teaching the basics of building algorithms. It consisted of a panel, lots of wires and switches. The device allowed to automate the calculation of answers to questionnaires, which had to be prepared in advance on paper. You connect the wires with the contacts, set the switches to different positions and in the end you get the amount. Many light bulbs created the effect of important work.
When the first programmable calculators appeared in the country, I immediately began to hunt for them. The best MK-52 calculator was produced in Kiev. I don’t know how, but, without access to the Internet, I found out that the nearest store where you can buy my dream calculator is located in Belarus. This miracle of technology cost 115 rubles - a huge sum for those times. Thanks to my parents: appreciating my zeal, they promised to go on vacation and bring the coveted equipment.
While waiting for the calculator, I was having fun with the slide rule. Of course, this is not programming, but the need to think through a calculation algorithm turned the counting process into an entertaining game. I am still grateful for the fate that she kept for me a slide rule and a user manual. It taught me to figure out the answer in my head before counting something. To make managerial decisions, it is often enough to know the order of magnitude, and the exact numbers are only confusing.
And so they brought me a calculator. It was a way to a new level. There was no community around programming on the MK-52; articles and examples of programs were published in magazines. You’ll laugh, but I managed to program several full-fledged games - landing on the moon, car racing and even the rudiments of Minecraft (the storyline where you shoot from a bow, and the calculator gives an answer - hit / miss).
MK-52 calculator
The effect of the presence was breathtaking, the now fashionable Oculus Rift with its VR does not give a small fraction of those sensations either. Of course, to completely immerse myself, I had to turn off the light and lock myself in a closet, which created some inconvenience, but it was worth it. The MK-52 fighter served me for almost 10 years, in my student years I considered laboratory and term papers on it.
In the same year, Mark Zuckerberg was born.
Then I heard about Basic. I will not say that he confused me, but I had to return to paper and pencils (do you remember that I did not have a computer yet?). It was a little frustrating. But here in the store "Electron" suddenly appeared home computers "Spectrum-001"! Parents again went to meet me.
Dad had to re-solder our only TV into a monitor, and the world of the future opened before me. As I understood a little later, this world was inaccessible to an ordinary student. Nevertheless, then it did not bother me - the command line prompt beckoned with awesome power.
Spectrum 001
Of the programmer's tools on this miracle of technology, only machine codes were available. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even an assembler in the delivery set (or it was, but I didn’t know what it was, my child’s brain was not ready to perceive such difficulties). There was no talk of any literature for beginners. I had to have fun with the search for life counters in games, which in itself was a very interesting activity. And who did not dream at least once to feel like a hacker?
A year passed behind the Tetris hack and, finally, one of the main events of my virtual life happened - I became the proud owner of a real personal computer - ZX Spectrum. Despite its 8 bits and a modest amount of RAM at 48 KB, this kid could do more than modern macbooks.
ZX Spectrum
Firstly, you could immediately create programs in Basic. No dancing with a tambourine - turned on and work. He had a color display! Clear business, the role of the display was performed by the same daddy’s TV, but in the interface and games it was possible to use 8 colors and two brightness values.
Secondly, a tape recorder was connected to the computer to save the created programs. Cassettes could be shared with friends, which is what everyone was actively doing. To come to a friend for tea, record a cassette and, under continuous howls of a binary code, conduct conversations about the digital future - a favorite pastime of geeks of the 80s.
There was enough literature on programming the ZX-80 processor, and I finally plunged into the creative process. All my free time, I coded something. What programs were these! A guitar gadget that makes an ordinary plywood guitar sound like it's a Fender (okay, I caught it, then I didn’t know about American guitars). And also - the ability to digitize and record sound. I also did not know about MP3, and I invented the digitization algorithm myself. Remember 48 Kbytes? They managed to record the first 10 seconds “Smoke on the water”. Modern codecs have a rest. Well-known games, like a snake, also had to be encoded.
My personal computer really liked the girls
And then we created the world's first, and presumably, the latest network based on ZX Spectrum computers. It was no longer necessary to run around with cassettes to friends - you could transfer the file over the network! Enthusiasts deployed stations with modems on their computers. They were called BBS or nodes. By calling such a modem over the phone, you could see a list of files, download or upload your own, and also chat with the operator.
Then email appeared. It was something. Simply writing a message and clicking on the “Send” button was not possible. First you prepare a letter, then you call the nearest node and send a message. When the recipient also reaches this node, he will be able to download the letter. Be that as it may, the scheme worked perfectly - all messages arrived quickly, and it never occurred to anyone to spoil our pleasure in sending spam. The biggest breakthrough was the integration of the mail gateway with the FidoNet network - an opportunity appeared to correspond with the whole world and subscribe to news.
Meanwhile, progress did not stand still. The iron curtain gradually crumbled - more and more fruits of “decaying capitalism” became available to Soviet citizens. Came and computers IBM PC. From the point of view of the programmer, it was an eerie and dull sight.
I did not want to program on such a computer at all. All that remained was to chop with friends in Duke Nukem and read bash.org. Therefore, we turn over this page of memories and move on to the era of web programming.
The first Internet connection took place via long-distance communication. I had no idea what the Internet was, however, work on the creation of the Spectrum network gave general ideas and attracted with its capabilities.
Still not understanding anything, I realized that I needed a website, I freely registered a 4-letter domain and began to learn html.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg was in high school.
HTML layout was simple and unpretentious, dynamic content was created using Cgi Perl. Have you seen the code of programs written in Perl? They are easy to recognize - everything is written in one line, and most of the code is occupied not by familiar words, but by incomprehensible characters. With its magic, Perl reminded me of assembler.
Magical Perl
The most popular search engine of the time was the Yellow Pages directory. Yes, it was a paper book, which was sold in a store. It was possible to find the desired product in alphabetical order or subject. The only difference from the usual directory is that the “Yellow Pages” did not provide postal addresses and phone numbers, but a link to the site. Cool, right?
Not everyone is destined to become Mark Zuckerberg. It didn’t work out for me either. Someone creates new products to turn the world around, while someone enjoys collecting a robot based on Arduino with a child.
Almost every day cool technologies appear that captivate the bold geniuses with their capabilities, and many novice programmers are concerned about the choice of a programming language, framework, or stack. Just like I did in my time, they search, try and change tools.
Later I learned that Zuckerberg studied psychology, not programming. And I thought: is the tool on which you create your product so important? Then I realized - he chose the goal, not the means.
Who is ready to go further and change the world for the better? Come up with good ideas, but there are tools.
Posted by Anton Sokolov, Founder and CTO, Deasoft
I don’t remember when and when I first heard about computers. Most likely, these were the books of Cyrus Bulychev or Evgeny Veltistov. At that time, humanity had high hopes for computers, and many science fiction novels idealized the digital future. Few people saw computers live, so the first acquaintance with programming began with a pencil and a sheet of paper. I drew the algorithms, started the von Neumann cycle in my head and imagined how the delivered program is executed. All my algorithms worked perfectly and without errors.
Then I got a constructor teaching the basics of building algorithms. It consisted of a panel, lots of wires and switches. The device allowed to automate the calculation of answers to questionnaires, which had to be prepared in advance on paper. You connect the wires with the contacts, set the switches to different positions and in the end you get the amount. Many light bulbs created the effect of important work.
MK-52
When the first programmable calculators appeared in the country, I immediately began to hunt for them. The best MK-52 calculator was produced in Kiev. I don’t know how, but, without access to the Internet, I found out that the nearest store where you can buy my dream calculator is located in Belarus. This miracle of technology cost 115 rubles - a huge sum for those times. Thanks to my parents: appreciating my zeal, they promised to go on vacation and bring the coveted equipment.
While waiting for the calculator, I was having fun with the slide rule. Of course, this is not programming, but the need to think through a calculation algorithm turned the counting process into an entertaining game. I am still grateful for the fate that she kept for me a slide rule and a user manual. It taught me to figure out the answer in my head before counting something. To make managerial decisions, it is often enough to know the order of magnitude, and the exact numbers are only confusing.
And so they brought me a calculator. It was a way to a new level. There was no community around programming on the MK-52; articles and examples of programs were published in magazines. You’ll laugh, but I managed to program several full-fledged games - landing on the moon, car racing and even the rudiments of Minecraft (the storyline where you shoot from a bow, and the calculator gives an answer - hit / miss).
MK-52 calculator
The effect of the presence was breathtaking, the now fashionable Oculus Rift with its VR does not give a small fraction of those sensations either. Of course, to completely immerse myself, I had to turn off the light and lock myself in a closet, which created some inconvenience, but it was worth it. The MK-52 fighter served me for almost 10 years, in my student years I considered laboratory and term papers on it.
In the same year, Mark Zuckerberg was born.
Spectrum 001
Then I heard about Basic. I will not say that he confused me, but I had to return to paper and pencils (do you remember that I did not have a computer yet?). It was a little frustrating. But here in the store "Electron" suddenly appeared home computers "Spectrum-001"! Parents again went to meet me.
Dad had to re-solder our only TV into a monitor, and the world of the future opened before me. As I understood a little later, this world was inaccessible to an ordinary student. Nevertheless, then it did not bother me - the command line prompt beckoned with awesome power.
Spectrum 001
Of the programmer's tools on this miracle of technology, only machine codes were available. Unfortunately, there wasn’t even an assembler in the delivery set (or it was, but I didn’t know what it was, my child’s brain was not ready to perceive such difficulties). There was no talk of any literature for beginners. I had to have fun with the search for life counters in games, which in itself was a very interesting activity. And who did not dream at least once to feel like a hacker?
ZX Spectrum
A year passed behind the Tetris hack and, finally, one of the main events of my virtual life happened - I became the proud owner of a real personal computer - ZX Spectrum. Despite its 8 bits and a modest amount of RAM at 48 KB, this kid could do more than modern macbooks.
ZX Spectrum
Firstly, you could immediately create programs in Basic. No dancing with a tambourine - turned on and work. He had a color display! Clear business, the role of the display was performed by the same daddy’s TV, but in the interface and games it was possible to use 8 colors and two brightness values.
Secondly, a tape recorder was connected to the computer to save the created programs. Cassettes could be shared with friends, which is what everyone was actively doing. To come to a friend for tea, record a cassette and, under continuous howls of a binary code, conduct conversations about the digital future - a favorite pastime of geeks of the 80s.
There was enough literature on programming the ZX-80 processor, and I finally plunged into the creative process. All my free time, I coded something. What programs were these! A guitar gadget that makes an ordinary plywood guitar sound like it's a Fender (okay, I caught it, then I didn’t know about American guitars). And also - the ability to digitize and record sound. I also did not know about MP3, and I invented the digitization algorithm myself. Remember 48 Kbytes? They managed to record the first 10 seconds “Smoke on the water”. Modern codecs have a rest. Well-known games, like a snake, also had to be encoded.
My personal computer really liked the girls
And then we created the world's first, and presumably, the latest network based on ZX Spectrum computers. It was no longer necessary to run around with cassettes to friends - you could transfer the file over the network! Enthusiasts deployed stations with modems on their computers. They were called BBS or nodes. By calling such a modem over the phone, you could see a list of files, download or upload your own, and also chat with the operator.
Then email appeared. It was something. Simply writing a message and clicking on the “Send” button was not possible. First you prepare a letter, then you call the nearest node and send a message. When the recipient also reaches this node, he will be able to download the letter. Be that as it may, the scheme worked perfectly - all messages arrived quickly, and it never occurred to anyone to spoil our pleasure in sending spam. The biggest breakthrough was the integration of the mail gateway with the FidoNet network - an opportunity appeared to correspond with the whole world and subscribe to news.
Meanwhile, progress did not stand still. The iron curtain gradually crumbled - more and more fruits of “decaying capitalism” became available to Soviet citizens. Came and computers IBM PC. From the point of view of the programmer, it was an eerie and dull sight.
I did not want to program on such a computer at all. All that remained was to chop with friends in Duke Nukem and read bash.org. Therefore, we turn over this page of memories and move on to the era of web programming.
Web programming
The first Internet connection took place via long-distance communication. I had no idea what the Internet was, however, work on the creation of the Spectrum network gave general ideas and attracted with its capabilities.
Still not understanding anything, I realized that I needed a website, I freely registered a 4-letter domain and began to learn html.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg was in high school.
HTML layout was simple and unpretentious, dynamic content was created using Cgi Perl. Have you seen the code of programs written in Perl? They are easy to recognize - everything is written in one line, and most of the code is occupied not by familiar words, but by incomprehensible characters. With its magic, Perl reminded me of assembler.
Magical Perl
The most popular search engine of the time was the Yellow Pages directory. Yes, it was a paper book, which was sold in a store. It was possible to find the desired product in alphabetical order or subject. The only difference from the usual directory is that the “Yellow Pages” did not provide postal addresses and phone numbers, but a link to the site. Cool, right?
Why am I
Not everyone is destined to become Mark Zuckerberg. It didn’t work out for me either. Someone creates new products to turn the world around, while someone enjoys collecting a robot based on Arduino with a child.
Almost every day cool technologies appear that captivate the bold geniuses with their capabilities, and many novice programmers are concerned about the choice of a programming language, framework, or stack. Just like I did in my time, they search, try and change tools.
Later I learned that Zuckerberg studied psychology, not programming. And I thought: is the tool on which you create your product so important? Then I realized - he chose the goal, not the means.
Who is ready to go further and change the world for the better? Come up with good ideas, but there are tools.
Posted by Anton Sokolov, Founder and CTO, Deasoft
All Articles