Programming

Is programming fun?

That's a question I'm asking myself sometimes. The fact is, that programming attracts me since years. And the reason is not clear at all. Probably it's the creating part of it. Making something that not existed before. My first program, now regarded rather primitive, has been written in 1977. During the years I used some assembler languages, several BASIC dialects, APL1, Fortran in different manifestations, Pascal and C. The numerous little programs in RPN on several HP calculators may be forgotten. Nowadays I'm trying to master C++, but that is bothered by the making of home pages, because I like that too.As well in my profession as in private live I used several machines as you can see on the pictures. Privately I used an Apple IIe, an Atari ST 520+, an Atari Mega ST4 and now I'm working with an ordinary IBM compatible. The different operating systems, or what was called so, were very distinct too. So there was no time to get bored, but often I lost a part of a night's rest. If you have seen the 'music' part of these pages, you will not be surprised, if I tell you, that I did some programming in that field. Even for the Apple IIe I already made a BASIC program to translate the traditional notation in Klavar. A plotter was used as the output device and the input was done with a mouse (at that time!). This program has been used for some time to publish Klavar music in the publications of the KVN (Klavar Vereniging Nederland = Dutch Klavar Association). For the Atari machines the exercise was repeated, but then with C as the programming language and a 300 or 360 dpi printer as the output device. The user interface is of course much more sophisticated than that of the Apple. But now I promised myself, that is the end of it, ...temporarily at least. I will make fun with computers!

Read again.